


Adventures Are Like New Books

by CptnRuski



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Books, Carey is kinda a snarky asshole, Carey's a Merman, Crying, Daring Rescue Missions, Falling In Love, Family Issues, Family Trips/Visits, First Kiss, First Time, Gentle Sex, Kidnapping, Lots of dates, M/M, Merfolk!AU, Misunderstandings, Off season, Sex, This is Honestly A Trope-y Mess, braden is soft, mermaid!au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-08
Updated: 2018-02-08
Packaged: 2019-03-15 14:02:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 28,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13614873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CptnRuski/pseuds/CptnRuski
Summary: "Braden Holtby saw his first merperson when he was 7 years old."





	Adventures Are Like New Books

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this back in the Summer and finally got around to finishing it recently. It's a little messy and you can kind of tell where I put it down for a while, but I hope you all enjoy it! Thank you to Blueberry23 for beta-ing!

 

Braden Holtby saw his first merperson when he was 7 years old. He and his family had travelled to a little lake town for a two week vacation to visit his Aunt Tanya. A few days into their vacation, Braden had gone down to the lake by himself, settling on the long dock that extended from the cabin property. Of course, while he didn't remember how, he had managed to fall into the chilly water and quickly began to sink, seemingly pulled down by some invisible force. However, before he could sink into the dark depths, a hand grabbed his and pulled him quickly to shore. Braden had sputtered and coughed as he struggled to get air back into his burning lungs before looking up to see a boy about his age staring down curiously at him. He had been very skinny and pale, with wide chocolate colored eyes, dark lips, pointed ears.... and a long red fish-like fluke with white fins. The little merboy had introduced himself as Carey, and though they weren’t exactly the same age, the two had become fast friends, excitedly chatting about their separate worlds and their hobbies, their families, their friends.   
For years afterwards, the Holtbys always made it down to the lake around the same time every year, and each year Braden would search for his merfriend. Carey would always surprise him in one way or another, be it spooking him by the dock, or hopping onto Braden's family's rowboat that Braden would take into the middle of the lake specifically to find the red-fluked merboy. The two would talk for hours, catching up the events from each of their lives that past year, Braden about how hockey was going, and Carey about the migration cycle the mermaids took through some kind of deep, underwater passageways built between many lakes and oceans. They would swap stories from all sorts of other things, Carey would tell Braden about the culture and history of merpeople, and Braden would bring books to read aloud to and teach Carey to read from. Of course, Braden's aunt had found out about Carey, but Tanya, an older woman who'd lived by the lake and been raised on the stories of the merfolk who lived within the deep waters, promised Braden to not let anyone know, only telling Braden to keep Carey a secret. However, while no one ever found out apart from Aunt Tanya, when Braden turned 14, trips to the lake were harder to make. His hockey career had really begun to take off after the Saskatoon Blades had drafted him to their team and slowly, it became the driving force in Braden's life. When it became evident that he could no longer make it to the lake, Braden called his aunt and explained that she needed to find Carey and apologize for his not being able to make it. His aunt promised to find him or contact him, and soon, thoughts of the lake eventually slipped from mind and the merboy written off as part of Braden’s imagination.

Braden was drafted by the Washington Capitals in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft and quickly pushed himself through the ECHL and the AHL all the way to the starting goaltender position in the NHL. Braden had fought hard and long for this chance and the minute that starting position contract came into his hands, he signed it and was officially set for years to come. A few years after his first full season in the NHL as a Capital, and a contract to keep him in Washington, Braden felt a strange urge to call his Aunt and ask her about the lake. His Aunt had been overjoyed to hear from him and invited him to come visit for a few weeks. Braden, feeling that same strange pull from earlier to the beautiful lake, agreed and packed his bags, an unprecedented feeling of excitement rushing through him as he planned the trip.   
____________________________________   
  
"Hey Aunt Tanya!" Braden called as he stepped out of his Jeep.    
The older woman emerged from the porch a moment later, quickly walking over to Braden and gave him a big hug,   
"Well hello there young man." She smiled brightly as she pulled away from Braden, "Finally decided it was time to visit your Auntie?"   
Braden flushed a bit in embarrassment,   
"I'm sorry I haven't visited the past few years, hockey kinda got-"   
Aunt Tanya gave him the 'no bullshit' look and Braden smiled sheepishly,   
"I should've visited." He chuckled nervously.   
"Yes you should've." Aunt Tanya shook her head, "But, you're here now, and I've just baked a batch of those chocolate chip cookies you seemed to love."   
Braden perked up as the smell hit his nose,   
"Aw man, you're the best, Auntie."   
  
The two made their way into the house and to the kitchen where Aunt Tanya had him sit at the little breakfast bar. As Tanya went about placing the cookies on a plate and moving them to the counter, they chatted about Braden's hockey career and what had changed over the past few years for Tanya and her lakeside cabin. It didn't take long to go over Braden's hockey, but Tanya had slumped slightly when they spoke about the lake. Apparently, new fishing boats and companies had been seen on the huge body of water over the past few years, and had very much disrupted the lives of the fish living in the lake and the people who lived on it.   
"I wouldn't be surprised if the merfolk decided to leave the lake for good because of them." Aunt Tanya sighed as she finished recalling the woes of the past few years at the lake.   
"... Merfolk?" Braden arched an eyebrow.   
"Don't tell me you've forgotten." Tanya stared at him, her brows furrowed in confusion.   
"Auntie, Merfolk are just a myth," Braden told her slowly, "they don't really exist."   
Aunt Tanya went silent for a moment before laughing,   
"Oh Braden, you know me," she began through her chuckles, "always talking about lake legends, I'm pulling your leg."   
Braden laughed with her and picked up a cookie to eat.   
"These are still as good as I remember." Braden grinned brightly after eating the delicious cookie.   
"Glad to hear it!" Tanya smiled back, though something in her eyes looked... off.   
  
After chatting for a while longer, Tanya let Braden do as he pleased, encouraging him to go out on the lake in the little power boat she had tied up at the end of the dock. Braden looked at the boat for a moment, feeling as though he  _ needed _ to go out on the lake, and graciously accepted Tanya's offer to use the boat. He got the keys from her before loading a few waters into a cooler and set out for the little boat, but stopped when he saw the small boathouse where the rowboat was kept.   
"Uh, hey Aunt Tanya?" Braden asked   
"Yes?"    
"Would you mind if I take the rowboat instead?"   
Tanya took a moment before nodding,    
"Of course you can, anything on the property is free for you to use."    
"Thank you Auntie." He offered a small smile before running back and handing the keys to her, "I should be back for dinner."   
"Of course. Have fun and be safe!"   
"I will!" Braden told her before walking over and entering the little boat house.   
It was a little dusty, but the rowboat he used frequently as a child looked to be in pristine condition. He frowned at the difference in cleanliness between the boathouse and the boat, but got into the little dinghy nonetheless as he realized Aunt Tanya must use it sometimes.   
It took him only a few moments to get his cooler situated and open the garage-like door to the boat house, and soon he was off paddling into the middle of the lake. There was a faint breeze funneling down the large body of water and the sun shone brightly in the sky, barely any clouds in the sky at all. The lake itself was calm, the light wind unable to churn up and roughen the water, and the sun's rays didn't feel too hot at all, at least not after Braden removed his shirt and sat in just his bathing suit in the little wooden dinghy.   
The goaltender came to a stop near the middle of the lake, far enough from either shore, that he could barely make out the cabins on the sides of the lake. He reached down into the cooler to grab a bottle of water, his hand bumping into a small bag in the process. The auburn haired man frowned before picking the bag up, then laughed to himself as he realized Aunt Tanya had snuck cookies into the cooler. Braden shook his head before opening the bag, taking a cookie and a bottle of water out to rest and snack for a moment. Just as Braden was about to eat the cookie however, he heard a splash in the water. Quickly, Braden turned towards the noise, seeing a large bubbly, splash trail on the surface of the water. There didn't seem to be anyone else around, so Braden assumed it was one of the many larger fish that inhabited the lake. However, what was one doing so close to the surface-   
All of a sudden, a loud noise seemed to skitter across the boat and Braden froze for a moment before turning and noticing the cookie he had been holding was... gone.   
"Damn." Braden grumbled, looking down into the lake where another small foamy circle sat next to the boat, figuring he had dropped the cookie because of whatever the noise had been. Shrugging, Braden snagged another, plopping it in his mouth before turning to look at one of the many lake markers, this one a large green buoy that indicated the depth of the lake that seemed new, it hadn't been here the last time he'd visited-   
Another loud splash startled Braden and he spun around as fast as he could to see the cookies spilled all over the bench and on the floor of the rowboat, also noting a few seemed to be missing again.   
"What the hell?" Braden chattered nervously, leaning over the side of the boat only to see a something move quickly out from under the rowboat. The goalie jumped back as he realized whatever the shadow was, was too big to be a fish, but misjudged the distance he jumped as he hit the side of the boat, lost his balance, and fell into the chilly water. Braden froze up, the water shocking him enough to inhibit movement, but he was able to get his eyes open. He started to try and swim, but suddenly felt extremely heavy as he worked to fight his way back to the surface. Panic began to seep into him as Braden found himself unable to move upwards; he was a great swimmer, how was this happening? The Canadian quickly tried to hasten his movements, clawing through the water before suddenly, what felt like a pair of arms slid up under  _ his _ arms, with hands settling on his chest, and within seconds, Braden was being propelled upwards. The goalie tried to twist to see who was pulling him to the surface, but felt his vision go blurry as the boat got closer and closer.

“ _ Fuck _ .”

Braden furrowed his brow as he heard the word, clear as day in his ear, just before they breached the surface and Braden was practically thrown back into his boat. He landed in the rowboat with a groan, dazed and lightheaded as he felt the boat move underneath him. He could have sworn he heard a voice, someone asking if he was alright before his vision went dark completely.

 

Braden awoke to the dark, dank ceiling of the boathouse accompanied by a very mildewy smell. He sat up carefully, holding his head just in case he'd wound up hurting it. Testing out some movement after waking up fully, Braden realized he didn't feel any different, if not a little thirsty. Slowly, as he stood up, he remembered what had just happened, the splashing, the thing in the water, someone rescuing him, and the cookies. 

Wait.

The cookies.

Braden quickly looked around the boat, but there was no sign of the baked goods Tanya had sent him off with. Of course, he also jumped when he didn't remember paddling in, something had _pulled the boat_ _to dock._ Within moments Braden sprinted back to the house, confused and a little frightened by what had just happened.

Aunt Tanya was sitting on an armchair, knitting some sweater looking thing, when Braden barged in.

“Are there really mermaids in the lake?” Braden asked breathlessly, as soon as he was in front of Tanya.

“Of course there are,” Tanya shook her head with a laugh, “what brings this on?”

“I just- well- there was-” Braden sputtered, “Something was stealing the cookies and I fell out of the boat and something pulled me out of the water and tied the boat back up over here.” 

“Oh? Was it a younger looking man? Dark hair? Very pale-?”

“I didn't see it.” Braden shook his head.

“Hm, well, it stole the cookies didn't it?” Tanya smirked

“Uh yeah, it took all of them whatever it was.” Braden nodded

“That sounds like one then, it was probably the young merman.” Tanya explained

“Mer… Man?” Braden asked, only remembering Tanya’s stories about mer _ maids. _

“Yes Braden, mermen, mermaids, merchildren, merfolk. There are all kinds of them in the lake.” Tanya smiled, “Though, I am surprised you don't remember.”

“Don't remember what?” Braden questioned.

“I suspect you're going back out on the lake?” She looked at him knowingly.

“I was planning to go back tomorrow.” Braden admitted.

“Good, you'll find the answer to your question there.” Tanya told him, “Now, I made homemade pizza for dinner.”

“With pineapple?” Braden inquired.

“Hell no,” Tanya gasped in mock offense, “pineapple does  _ not  _ belong on pizza.”

 

Braden retreated to the guest room soon after dinner with a few books Tanya had in the house about merma- mer _ folk _ . They seemed to have legitimate information about merpeople and Tanya had assured him the three books she’d given him to read were the most accurate. Sitting down on the bed and turning the lamp on, Braden began to skim through the books which discussed merfolk Magic, some culture, and myths associated with the sea creatures. The books pointed out their elf-like faces and upper bodies, that they were incredibly beautiful, but also how deadly they could be, with razor sharp claws and what looked like retractable fang-like teeth. Their siren-like voices were also noted, but they were known to not be as strong as that of real sirens.

The last of the three books went more into personalities and actual human-merfolk interaction, including actual anecdotes from people who had met and befriended a merperson. Braden went through this book with much more care than the others, noting that merfolk liked human food and gifts from the land in general, as the book explained they were a very curious people. The Canadian goaltender continued to read through the book, enjoying reading and learning about these people. As Braden read, as one would hazard, he began to get sleepy, but powered his best through the book until he reached a rather peculiar section, a description of human-merperson relationships… romantic relationships? However, as the minutes passed, Braden grew more tired and heavy lidded by the second, and just as he was getting to a part that explained merfolk and legs, he slipped away into a dreamless sleep.

 

Braden woke as the sun rose over the lake. The sky was painted with soft pinks and oranges as the sun emerged from behind the deep green forest that encircled the lake. He slowly made his way downstairs, finding coffee and a note written for him near the coffee pot.

‘I had to go out and meet a friend who had a flat tire, breakfast stuff is in the usual cupboard to the left of the fridge and a new batch of cookies are hiding in the microwave, have fun today! - Aunt Tanya’

Braden nodded at the little note before puttering around the kitchen, fixing his coffee with a little cream and sugar, then moved to the cupboard, snagging a box of Cheerios to eat.

Breakfast didn't take very long for the young man, and soon, Braden was gathering things for the day. The cookies, some water, a cider, and some other assorted snacks were stuffed into the little cooler before Braden changed into a bathing suit, grabbed extra sunscreen, and made his way towards the rowboat. His plan was simple, camp out in the middle of the lake and see if whatever saved him,  _ whoever  _ saved him, would come back for him… or the cookies it seemed to like.

Much like the day before, it didn't take very long for Braden to paddle out to the middle of the lake. The lake was calmer than the day before, no wind carried across the water at all, and though the sun was out, it was cooler than yesterday. Sighing softly, Braden set up camp for his day of sitting in the middle of the lake. He pulled out a book he had grabbed on the way down, a collection of Greco-Roman Mythos, and got himself comfortable to read.

Braden was halfway through the story of Orpheus in the Underworld when a splash caught his attention. Carefully, Braden placed his book on the bench and reached down to pull the Tupperware container that held the cookies from its spot beneath him.

“I-uh… I've got those cookies you seemed to like yesterday.” Braden called out, knowing his voice would carry across the lake and hopefully get the attention of his rescuer from the day before. After he yelled across the water, Braden sat still, waiting for any sign of movement or splashing.

He remained like that for a while, long enough that Braden knew he needed to put more sunblock on, and after doing one more sweep of the surrounding area with his eyes, put the cookies below the bench and went about reapplying his sunscreen. It took him a few minutes to make sure the cream had been spread evenly over his body, and just as he was turning to put the bottle of sunscreen away, an incredibly loud splash followed by both a loud thump and a violent rocking of the boat threw him off balance. Braden grabbed the bench below him so as to not go swimming as he had yesterday, and when the boat started to settle he sighed in relief.

“Cute little boat you have here, but you said you had cookies?”

Braden froze, slowly looking up from his spot and gasping, the netminder could not believe his eyes at what he saw. While Aunt Tanya had been adamant about the existence of mermaids, Braden had still been a bit skeptical, but  _ now… _ In front of him sat a man with dark hair and chocolate colored eyes,  _ very _ pale skin, pointed ears, reddened lips drawn up in a smirk, gills on his neck, webbing between his fingers, and a long, bright red tail with white accents on the fins.

“Holy shit-!” Braden gasped jumping

Back a little only for one of the mermai… mer _ man’ _ s hands to grab his leg.

“I feel like falling into the lake,  _ again _ , would not be a fun experience.” The merman shook his head with a chuckle as he rested his arms against the boat’s stern and flipped his tail up and over a bench.

“H-hi.” Braden stammered as he looked up and down the creature again.

“Hello.” The merman smiled, his tone sickeningly sweet and Braden felt himself run a smidge hot under the merman’s heavy lidded gaze.

“You're a mer…. man.” 

“Well it does appear that I am.” The merman laughed, “Why so shocked?”

“... I-” Braden stopped. “I'm sorry you just… Surprised me.”

“Yes I do tend to be good at that.” The merman preened, obviously proud of his stealth.

“So erm… What… Who… Are you?” Braden asked carefully, not really knowing how to word it politely.

The merman stopped the movement of his tail, which Braden hadn't even realized had been swinging, and stared at the Canadian for a moment,

“Uh, you don't? Know who I am?” The merman cocked his head in confusion.

“No I don’t, should I?” Braden frowned 

“Well Mr. Braden Holtby,” the merman rolled his eyes causing Braden to flinch in surprise, “I would assume that you would've remembered me pulling your ass out of the lake when you were 7 or so.”

“Wh… How do you…” Braden trailed off as he tried to remember back to the first visit his family took to the lake, vaguely remembering being caught underwater with a small hand pulling him to safety.

“My name is Carey,” the merman told him, his tone slightly annoyed, “and I've now rescued you from the lake twice, not counting when you purposely jumped out in the middle of the lake when you were 13.”

Braden stared in an odd mix of confusion and wonder at Carey as he tried to think back. This merperson obviously remembered him, but to Braden this… man seemed like a figment of his young mind’s imagination.

“You really don't remember me?” Carey asked carefully.

“I-I'm sorry,” Braden put his hands up defensively, “I just... this is a lot to process.”

“Waiting 10 years for you was a process, asshole.” Carey rolled his eyes in annoyance.

Suddenly a thought sprung into Braden’s head as he eyed the mythology book,

“Reading,” Braden sputtered out quickly, “I taught you how to read didn't I?”

Carey perked up immediately at his words, his eyes shining with glee as a smile stretched across his ruddy lips,

“Yes you did!”

“I brought you those little children's books, the Disney ones right?” Braden asked in excitement.

“The first book you found for me was The Little Mermaid.” Carey guffawed.

“You were mad that I'd picked that book, but didn't realize it was a retelling of the original-” Braden started

“-and it had a better and happier ending.” Carey nodded.

Braden gazed wide eyed at Carey who stared back with unrestrained happiness,

“I honestly thought that I'd made you up in my head.” Braden admitted, “That you were just an imaginary friend.”

“Ow, right in the heart kid.” Carey mocked grabbing his hands over his heart dramatically, “But no, I'd definitely say I was real.”

“Holy fuck man,” Braden shook his head, “I’m… I'm definitely a little shocked right now.”

“Eh, I get that, it's not everyday a dashingly handsome merman flops into your boat.” Carey shrugged.

Now it was Braden’s turn to roll his eyes,

“Oh no, of course not.”

Carey grinned at him before he saw the little container of cookies,

“Did Tanya make those?” Carey asked, his focus directly on the Tupperware container full of cookies.

“Yes she did.” Braden nodded as he pulled the container out from its spot under the bench, “Would you like some?”

“ _ Please _ .” Carey nodded while Braden opened the lid, noting how the merman took a deep whiff before sighing at the smell and reaching to grab one.

“So,” Carey started after popping a cookie into his mouth, “why were you  _ gone _ for so long?”

“Hockey.” Braden told him sheepishly, “I got drafted to be a pro junior player after that last summer and now I'm a professional hockey player for the Washington Capitals.”

“Hm, Washington like the state?” Carey asked, grabbing another cookie in the process.

“No, the US Capitol.” Braden explained, “It's on the Eastern side of the states.”

“That's the city… With all the monuments and museums Tanya told me about?” 

“I would assume so, she's come to see me play once or twice.” Braden smiled.

“How many people come to see you play?” Carey asked, this time with a stack of cookies in his hand.

“Oh man… A lot. Each night we practically fill up a stadium that can sit around 18,000 and people can also watch us on the television.” Braden explained as Carey scarfed down the cookies.

“The tv…” Carey frowned before gasping, “The mechanical box! Tanya watches men in red shirts play a lot! She's mentioned it being your team a few times!”

“Has she?” Braden asked, his heart swelling a bit that Tanya still kept up with his games.

“Mmhmm,” Carey hummed through a mouthful of cookies, “You wear…. Number… 70?”

“I do!” Braden smiled

“That is a big number.” Carey mused, “So… Hockey kept you?”

“Yeah,” Braden’s smile flipped to a frown, “I got very busy with not very much down time, I was training and playing and balancing school work, coming to visit just… It didn't work in the schedule.”

“Well, at least Tanya stayed and baked for me.” Carey mumbled.

“Aunt Tanya bakes cookies just for you?” Braden arched an eyebrow at the merman.

“Yup,” Carey grinned, “She also brings me books to read in the boathouse.”

“Ah, so that's why the boat is so clean.” Braden realized.

“I clean it for reading.” Carey explained with a shrug, “It’s a comfortable little boat.”

“So what kind of books are you reading? Do you just tell Aunt Tanya what you like to read and she'll grab something in the genre?” Braden questioned, curious as to how Carey knew what he wanted to read.

“Well, sometimes she'll go down to the library with specific books I want, and other times I just go into the house and look through Tanya’s personal libr-”

“Hold up.” Braden stopped Carey, “Go into the house?”

“Tanya keeps a key stashed in the boathouse for me.” Carey shrugged, “It really isn't a big deal.”

“How do you get up on  _ land? _ ” Braden gesture wildly with his hands, “Do you just like… Crawl or flop up from the boathouse?”

Carey stared at him as if his question had the simplest answer of all time,

“When merfolk dry off, our tails turn into legs, duh.” Carey shook his head.

“I'm… Ok, you know what, that seems legit.” Braden huffed, “Wait, why didn't you come on land when you were younger?”

“Laws and biology.” Carey explained, “Merpeople can't grow legs until they've mostly matured, and laws dictate we can't leave the water until the age of 16. I personally had to wait until I was 18 because of my overprotective mother.”

“Ah… alright.” Braden nodded, “So um, what do you usually do during the day?”

“Well to be honest, I spend most of my day holed up in your aunt’s boathouse.” Carey mumbled, looking away almost embarrassed, “I read a lot, she brings me those cookies sometimes, then I go home to my mother and sister.”

“You have a home under the lake?”

“Oh man we have an entire  _ city _ , so right in the center of the lake, there’s a city of lights…”

_X_ _X_ _X_ _X_ _X_ _X_ _X_ _X_ _X_ _X_ _X_ _X_

A few hours later, the two had been mostly caught up on the events of the last ten years. Braden had started talking about his teammates when his stomach gave a loud growl and when he had gone to look for food, Carey had blushed and sheepishly admitted he'd eaten everything Braden had brought in the boat. The Canadian had shrugged it off and invited Carey back to Tanya’s property with him, which the merman had accepted with a large smile. They paddled back with just small chat between them, and when Braden dropped the boathouse door and tied the dinghy up, Carey have a sigh.

“This could take a minute or so.” Carey explained as he dragged himself up and out of the boat laying out on the dry dock next to Braden.

“So, does Tanya ever do meals with you or…?” Braden asked

“No, usually when I go into her house she's out doing errands.” Carey said as he sat up.

“Only when she's ou-?” Braden began before hearing a sizzling noise and when he looked back to Carey, the merman was… Well, his fluke was gone and replaced by two legs.

Two bare legs.

“Oh- wow- ok-” Braden stuttered as he covered his eyes, feeling his face run hot

“Um, are you ok?” Carey asked cautiously as Baden felt a hand on his shoulder, obviously the merman steadying himself.

“You aren't wearing clothes.” Braden pointed out.

“Is that an issue?” Carey asked, his tone confused.

“Well, if you ever want to- well, just- yes, you have to wear clothes as a human.” Braden stammered.

“Oh, um…” Carey trailed off, “I think you've kinda guessed I don't have clothing.”

“Give me like, three minutes- just… stay here.” Braden told him as he exited the boat house, running into the house, grabbing a set of shorts, boxers, and a shirt that looked about Carey’s size, and running back out to the boat house, offering the clothing to Carey through the door.

“These should fit.” Braden called into the boathouse as he felt the clothing be picked up from his hand. A few minutes later, Carey came out with just the khaki pair of shorts on.

“Is this one of your hockey shirts?” Carey asked, holding up the red shirt with the Capitals logo across the front, “It has your name and number on the back.”

“Uh yeah it is.” Braden smiled awkwardly, feeling his face go warm not just at the fact that he'd grabbed Carey a Caps shirt, but that Carey was shirtless and was apparently, incredibly well toned.

“Cool.” Carey grinned, throwing the shirt on and moving towards the house, “You coming?”

“Uh, yeah.” Braden nodded, snapping himself out of his daze and following Carey into the house.

Instead of the kitchen, where Braden expected Carey to lead him, the merman instead wandered right into Tanya’s reading and library room. Braden grabbed a granola bar before following after Carey, eating it as he watched the merman card through the many books in the shelves.

“So what do you usually read?” Braden asked, watching as Carey picked up a trashy looking romance novel from the shelf.

“Really, it's usually what Tanya grabs for me, I like mystery, adventure, fantasy, and romance.” Carey grinned as he opened the book in his hands.

“Ah, the trashy romance novel, a time honored guilty pleasure.” Braden laughed as he looked at the pile of them Tanya had stacked up.

“Trashy?” Carey looked at him funny, “No Braden, these are epic stories of men going on adventures and fighting monsters and demons and finding love with one another and-”

“Oh man, the  _ gay _ trashy romance novel, even better.” Braden chuckled as he thumbed through one of them that seemed to have werewolves as the main characters.

“They aren't trashy Braden, these are works of art.” Carey argued exasperatedly, “Tanya started giving them to me so that I could learn about how humans went about doing… well...  courting.”

“Oh god,” Braden chuckled, shutting his book, “Well, there's a bit of truth in them, but those aren't near what the normal human romantic stuff is like.”

“Are you sure? Tanya says you've never dated anyone before.” Carey smirked.

“Well uh… you see…” Braden stuttered out, knowing there was truth in those words.

“See? You don't know if it's real or not.” Carey have him a smug smile as he plucked two books from the shelf, “I'm going to go put these in the boathouse.”

Before Braden could get anything out, Carey was already out of the house and putting the books in the little building. Soon enough, Carey was back in the house and was making a beeline for the kitchen.

“Do you think Tanya has any other cookies stashed around here?” Carey asked as he opened the microwave, frowning at the sight before him.

“I think you ate them all.” Braden told him, sitting down at the table as Carey wandered around the kitchen trying to locate more baked goods, “Are… You don't only eat cookies do you?”

“Of course not.” Carey shot him a ‘ _ really?’ _ look, “I eat the other sweets like those little cakes Tanya brings me too.”

“Because that's so much better.” Braden retorted.

“I do eat real food.” Carey rolled his eyes before eyeing up something in the cabinet, “Hmmm, what're these?”

“What are what?” Braden asked, craning his neck to see what Carey was reaching for.

“L… Lucky Charms?” Carey frowned in confusion.

“No. You do not need those after all the cookies you demolished dude.” Braden stared Carey down, making sure he put the box back, “That cereal is probably  _ more  _ sugar than all those cookies.”

“Cereal is… breakfast food right?” Carey inquired as he looked around the cabinet.

“I feel like if you read so much you should know that.” Braden snorted.

Carey glared at him, obviously unamused,

“Humans are weird, specific foods for breakfast, lunch, and dinner is not a normal thing, and it gets hard to remember.”

Braden shrugged as Carey continued rummaging through the cabinet, the merman finding a chocolate bar and offering half to Braden. The two sat at the table eating the treat in silence for a while before they heard the front door open.

“Hello~!” Tanya called out in a sing song voice.

“Hey Auntie.” Braden replied as Tanya walked into the kitchen.

“Hello Braden, oh!” Tanya exclaimed, “And hello Carey! How are you dear?”

“I'm doing fine Miss Tanya, how are you?” Carey smiled warmly at her.

“A bit tired from all my errands, but definitely well thank you!” Tanya laughed, “I see you found Carey, Braden.”

“More like he found me.” Braden chuckled, “You were right, the cookies drew him out in no time.”

“Hey!” Carey pouted, “You put those out to lure me in?”

“Yep.” Tanya and Braden told him in unison.

“... I cannot believe how much I love those cookies.” Carey grumbled before looking out at the lake, seeing the sun starting to set, “Oh no.”

“Oh no?” Braden furrowed his brow.

“I'm sorry I can't stay to chat,” Carey started, “but the sun’s setting, I have to go.”

“Oh dear it is late isn't it?” Tanya frowned.

“Sunset?” Braden questioned as Carey gave Tanya a quick hug.

“I'll explain tomorrow if you'll still be here?” Carey’s voice was rapid and wavering slightly.

“I will be.”

“Great. Good evening and good night!” Carey smiled before sprinting out of the house and into the boathouse.

“I-” Braden started as he saw a form swim out from the building, “He still had my clothes.”

“You lent Carey your clothing?” Tanya cracked a smile.

“Auntie he was-” Braden began

“I know.” Tanya interrupted him with an unrestrained snort, “He's an odd one in the pack. Don't worry about your clothes, you'll get them back eventually.”

 

Dinner was a quiet affair, Braden had helped Tanya cook a chicken soup before they'd sat down to watch something on the television while eating dinner. Tanya had remained mostly quiet as  _ The Hunt for Red October  _ played on the screen, absorbed completely in the movie, while Braden sat there and pondered what exactly had happened today.

He'd met a cookie loving merman named Carey, who apparently wasn't a figment of his imagination, he'd hung out with said merman for the better part of the day, and he'd brought Carey back to his home where he came often times anyway because Tanya baked for him… and gave him trashy romance novels.

What even was his life? What even was  _ the lake? _

“Confused?” Tanya asked softly as the credits rolled over the screen.

“A little.” Braden admitted, “This is… A lot to take in.”

“It was for me too.” Tanya gave an amused sigh, “I found out the mermaids were real shortly after Carey was born. His mother got sick and I found her in the boathouse alone with little Carey, she was barely clinging to life. I helped nurse her back to health until her…  husband of sorts came looking for her. He was incredibly thankful, as was she, for taking care of her and Carey. Since then they've entrusted me with the secrets of their people, the tribe knows me and knows I won't ever tell anyone of their existence…”

“Except me?” Braden asked quietly.

“Except you.” Tanya nodded before letting out a soft laugh, “Though, it technically is Carey’s fault you know of mermaids.”

“He said he pulled me out of the lake when I was younger.” 

“He did. You fell in while running around on the dock. Carey was coming to visit me and your parents had arrived earlier than I had expected. He used to just come and visit me for lunch back then, and I hadn't the time to tell him you all were coming. He swam by just as you fell and pulled you out. You two were practically inseparable whenever you came to the lake after that.”

Braden hummed, vaguely recalling the image of a small, pale hand, reaching out and grabbing his own hand, the familiar blue-green tint of under the lake surrounding him.

“What did he do when… when we stopped coming to the lake?’ Braden frowned.

Tanya’s frown mirrored Braden’s own for a moment before she took a big breath,

“Truth be told, Carey was distraught. He didn’t really  _ have _ friends because he and his younger sister were the only children in the tribe when they were growing up and well, you know how the sibling game goes.”

Brade nodded as he put his bowl down on the coffee table,

“So… He was alone?”

“He had his family of course, and myself, not many others.” Tanya explained, “He doesn’t truly fit in with the rest of the merfolk, though that is  _ his  _ right, not mine, to explain that.”

“Wait, why-” Braden stammered.

“It is not my place to tell you that.” Tanya shook her head with a chuckle, “However, because of that, he came to visit me more and more over the years. He’s a very curious young merman, he always had questions about how we lived, ate, spoke, anything you can think of. I started running out of answers sooner than later and started buying him books to help him. He loved school books and history textbooks for the longest time, he couldn’t learn enough. Then, when I told him about you being drafted, he absolutely had to know  _ everything _ about hockey, and everything I was to get him was hockey, hockey, hockey.”

“Just because I was drafted?” Braden chuckled.  
“He didn’t understand what ‘drafted’ meant until I explained how the Leagues work.” Tanya laughed, “I remember him looking at me with the most confused face and having to explain how people got payed to play a sport and people went and _watched_ it all the time. He didn’t really get it until I started showing him videos of the CHL, the ECHL, the AHL, and up to the NHL. He started noticing the differences in levels easily and even learned the plays.”

“That’s… That’s certainly something.” Braden mused before stopping, “Wait, so I get everything else, but how the hell did he find those…. Those…. Uh… you know….”

“Those what?” Tanya questioned.

“The gay romance novels.” Braden sighed out, an embarrassed flush rushing to his face.

“... That… Um…” Tanya stalled, her own face reddening at his words, “Let’s just say I was reading one before bringing him some new books.”

“ _ Oh my god.” _

_X_ _X_ _X_ _X_ _X_ _X_ _X_ _X_ _X_ _X_ _X_ 

The next day was supposed to be a lazy Sunday, and it started out as just that. Tanya had woken Braden up when she whipped up some definitely-not-on-the-diet-plan waffles, the smell had roused Braden from his sleep and he swore that those waffles could wake the dead. After the two had cleaned up the kitchen, Tanya went out to tend to the garden while Braden grabbed the newspaper and read up on the past week’s baseball standings and statistics. However, in the middle of reading about the game where Blue Jays had absolutely  _ trashed _ the Red Sox, Tanya burst back in the house.

“Aunt Tanya-” Braden turned to greet her.

“Two days in a row!” She gasped out almost angrily, “First the flat and now Melody is in the hospital!”

“Uh…” Braden stood up, a bit shocked as he tried to figure out what was happening.

“Neighbor in the hospital, I have to bring her a bag!” Tanya huffed as she went about packing some things into her purse, “I cannot believe this woman-”

“Uh, she's ok?” Braden questioned carefully.

“Oh she’ll be fine, she's just a bit of a klutz,” Tanya shook her head, “lives alone and such. We rotate who takes care of her if things go wrong in the neighborhood, we have HOA meetings where we discuss the schedule.”

“That's…” Braden trailed off, not really knowing how to respond.

“Interesting? It is, makes sure Melody gets company though. She's really a sweet old lady, just… clumsy.” Tanya gave a smile, “I’ll be back at some point, there's cookies in the oven.”

“For Carey?” Braden cocked an eyebrow.

“For Carey.” Tanya winked, “Take care.”

“See you Auntie.”

And with that, Tanya was out the door and gone for the day. 

Braden gave a confused look at the door before shrugging and sitting back down on the couch. For the better part of the hour, Braden aimlessly flipped through channels, drinking his coffee before the oven timer went off. Putting his mug down, Braden went to retrieve the cookies, checking on them to make sure they were done and pulling them out and setting them to cool.

As Braden finished putting the cookies on the cooling rack however, he heard a thump at the door. Furrowing his brow, Braden slowly walked to the little entranceway near the kitchen.

“Good morning!” Carey’s voice was muffled through the door, but Braden could hear the happiness in his voice as he came to the door, the little window in it giving him a good view of Carey’s bright smile and the clothes he had borrowed yesterday. Giving an amused hum, Barden opened the door for Carey who quickly made his way to the counter where the cookies were.

“Good mor-” Braden started before noticing how excited Carey looked at the sight of the cookies.

“Oooh, they're so warm!” Carey grinned widely at Braden, pointing to the golden brown morsels, “Did you bake these ones?”

“Nah, Aunt Tanya threw a batch in before she had to go visit a friend in the hospital.” Braden shook his head.

“Thank you Tanya~” Carey said in a sing-song voice, obviously extremely pleased at the idea of  _ more _ cookies.

“You just… Really like cookies don't you?” Braden chuckled.

“Yeah. And I almost never get these cookies when they're warm. They're really better that way.” Carey sighed contently.

“This is definitely exciting then.” Braden noted.

“Mmhmm.” Carey hummed, poking a cookie before drawing his hand back quickly after grazing it against the hot cookie sheet, “ _ Fuck- _ !”

“That just came out of the oven.” Braden explained, quickly moving over and taking a look at Carey’s hand, “You ok?”

“Yeah.” Carey nodded, frowning at his hand, shaking it a bit but still looked uncomfortable.

“Here,” Braden started, taking Carey’s hand into his, “let's run this under cold water and see if Tanya has burn cream anywhere.”

“Oh- um… Ok?” Carey pouted at bit, his eyes betraying his confusion.

“What's wrong?” Braden asked softly.

“Wh… What's a burn?”

 

A few minutes later Braden had found the burn cream but had come back to find Carey on the ground, frowning, with his glossy red fluke flopping around uselessly on the hardwood floor.

“I seem to be in a bit of a predicament.” Carey chuckled sheepishly, looking down at his tail with a flush on his cheeks.

“I can see that.” Braden nodded as he tried to figure out how to deal with this. 

Shaking his head, Braden knelt down next to Carey and gently took the burned hand in his again. As Braden inspected the wound, no noted it didn’t look like a normal burn, the skin having turned pearl white at the area affected.

“This may sting.” Braden warned Carey with a sympathetic look before uncapping the bottle of burn ointment and carefully spreading it over Carey’s hand. Carey hissed in discomfort, a purely inhuman noise, and Braden flinched slightly in surprise, but continued to work nonetheless. Quickly, Braden wrapped the wound with some gauze before looking down at the deep red, scaley looking tail that seemed to flow seamlessly from Carey’s midsection.

“Something the matter?” Carey asked, his voice taking on an almost timid tone.

“Huh- um, no just,” Braden gestured to the tail, “Still getting used to that I guess.”

“Well, it’s definitely different. It’s really bright,” Carey chuckled, “Brightest in the entire tribe actually… It definitely stands out.”

“I meant that I wasn’t used to seeing a person with.... A fish-tail?” Braden frowned, not really knowing the best name to call the finned appendage.

“I prefer fluke, but I guess seeing a person with one would be off putting. I mean, you did forget that I existed.” Carey mocked offense before breaking into a fit of laughter.

Braden flushed at the words and looked away for a moment as nervous laughter escaped from him.

“Hm,” Carey mumbled after a moment, “The ground isn’t very comfortable.”

“Nope.” Braden agreed, “How long should it take for you to get legs back?”

“Um, that cream you put on my hand, was it… does it have water in it?” Carey asked.

Braden looked down at the ingredient list on the little tube and sighed,

“It does, and it really doesn’t dry fast.”

“Damn,” Carey frowned, “Looks like I’ll be stuck unless you want to haul my ass down to the lake.”

“The red fluke is a little obvious.” Braden pointed out.

“Which is why you shouldn’t haul me down to the lake.” Carey explained, “Though uh, is there somewhere more comfortable to sit? My scales are beginning to ache.”

“Well,” Braden looked around, “Your scales aren’t wet right?”

“Nah, they’re very dry and they always dry the quickest when I’m on land.” Carey explained, “Only thing that’s wet is my hand.”

“Alright,” Braden nodded, “d-do you mind if I uh, pick you up or..?”

“Be my guest.” Carey shrugged before gesturing to the place where his skin faded into scales, “Just avoid messing with where my torso meets my tail, it’s really sensitive there.”

“I can do that.” Braden nodded before trying to figure out the best way to pick Carey up, blushing as he realized the only way to do so was a bridal carry.

After a moment of internal groaning, Braden looped one arm under Carey’s arms, and the other at the crook of his fluke where he would have knees if he had legs at the moment. Carefully, Braden lifted the merman up, trying to make the lift as smooth as possible while Carey gasped, throwing his arms around Braden’s neck for support.

“You good?” Braden asked, shifting Carey’s weight a bit to make sure he wouldn’t drop the surprisingly light man.

“Y-yeah, sorry,” Carey chuckled nervously, his arms tightening around Braden, “Can you tell I’m not used to being picked up?”

Braden merely laughed and nodded before making his way into the living room, it wasn’t difficult at all for the goaltender, but the feeling of Carey’s scales was… strange. Carey’s scales were exceptionally cool to the touch, but weren’t rough or scratchy like Braden had been expecting. Instead the shining ruby-colored scales were smooth and slightly bumpy, almost soft to the touch, and felt comfortable against the bare skin of the Canadian’s arms. When they reached the couch, Braden gently lowered Carey onto it, feeling as Carey tightened his grip again right before letting go of the goaltender.

“Better?” Braden questioned as Carey flipped his tail up so that it was fully on the couch, taking up about half the space there.

“Much.” Carey nodded as he examined the gauze on his hand, “So… you think those cookies are still warm?”

“You just burned yourself on them and you’re already back to wanting at them.” Braden guffawed while Carey shrugged.

The cookies were in fact still warm, and a few minutes later, Braden brought them back into the living room where Carey was eyeing up the remote for the flat screen on the wall.

“Would you like to watch something?” Braden inquired as he set the cookie plate down on the coffee table.

“Maybe.” Carey shrugged before grinning sheepishly, “I’m… not really familiar with how this works. I never really paid attention to Tanya when she used this, I was hyper focused on the box.”

“What does Tanya usually watch with you?” Braden asked as he took the remote from Carey’s hand.

“Lots of hockey,” Carey smiled, “a few other things, but none of them really interested me.”

“Well… It’s kind of the off season.” Braden frowned, “Unless Tanya has NHL network or some games recorded…”

“She has a list full of your games.” Carey smiled, “and last month there was a… I think tournament? There were lots of different countries and stuff.”

“Probably Junior Worlds.” Braden nodded as he flicked the tv on.

“... Can you show me how to use that?” Carey asked as his gaze returned to the remote.

“Yeah sure, so this button turns it on…”

The two of them wound up watching old Caps games for the entire rest of the morning and late into the afternoon. Carey had obviously not seen a few that Braden had chosen, and became very invested in them very fast, yelling and cheering at the television screen, and excitedly pointing out plays and rules he recognized. Whenever Carey was confused by a call or a rule, Braden happily explained it to him. He also interspersed thoughts about his play and the entire team’s play when things got a bit boring. When Braden went to click on another game, Carey frowned at the screen.

“How… Do you pronounce that?” He pointed to the name on screen.

“The Canadiens?” Braden asked.

“Yeah it… that isn’t english.” Carey shook his head, “It’s spelled wrong.”

“Les Canadiens de Montréal.” Braden informed him, “It’s Quebecois French.”

“That sounds fake.” Carey huffed.

“Are there no Quebecois merpeople?” Braden asked.

“I…” Carey stopped, “I don’t actually know. It’s East right?”

“Yeah, Quebec is a few provinces over.” Braden nodded.

“This, uh Sas-Saskatchewan is the furthest East I’ve ever been.” Carey told him, “My mom is from a little tribe in British Colombia, very far to the North, we go back fairly often, but we’ve never gone further East then here. I have no idea what mercolonies or tribes could be out there.”

Braden frowned, noting Carey’s unhappy tone,

“Maybe you’ll get to head out there one day, the eastern part of the country is pretty cool.”

“It’d be cool to see.” Carey smiled, “Though, I think I’m hockey’d out for the day.”

“That’s fair.” Braden laughed, looking down and realizing Carey’s legs were back, when had that happened?

“I think I’m gonna snag a book and read for a bit.” Carey told the Canadian as the he wandered into the library, returning a moment later with one of the trashy romance novels he so loved. 

As Braden sat on the couch, he pondered over what Tanya had said last night. She said Carey was different from the others, how he didn’t fit in, but as Carey quietly settled back into the couch, nestling himself into the cushions, and opened the book to read, Braden couldn’t find the courage to ask him.

“Hm,” Carey mumbled all of a sudden.

“Question?” Braden asked as he looked over to the merman.

“... What’s sex like?” Carey pursed his lips together as he stared at the page of his book.

Braden froze as he looked at Carey, knowing his face had immediately gone red.

“U-um well,” Braden stammered, “It’s nice? It feels good like? Um?”

“What? Have you never-” Carey started, practically glaring at Braden.

“Carey.” Braden stopped him short, “Yes, I have had sex.”

“Ah,” Carey nodded, “Well… Can we have sex?”

Braden nearly fell out of his chair as he choked on his own spit in surprise,

“Um? Carey-”

“Did I ask something wrong?” Carey asked, his eyes wide in horror.

“N-no it’s ok, that surprised me,” Braden shook his head, “Um, but Carey… sex… some people do, but most people only have sex with people they’re close to.”

“... Are we not close?” Carey asked softly, his face falling.

“No! No Carey, we are, at least  _ I  _ think so, but it’s just- uh-” Braden stammered, not really knowing  _ how _ to deal with damage control here, “Um- I- Carey, sex it’s- it’s for romantic partners. I’d- I’d think your books would touch on that.”

“... Ah.” Carey nodded before burying his head back in the novel.

Tanya arrived home a few hours later. While Braden had wound up napping, Carey had blazed through his book, both of them jumping when Tanya came through the door. However, Carey quickly noticed it was sunset and again greeted Tanya before saying his goodbyes and ducking out quickly, just as he had the night before.

“Why does he always leave at sunset?” Braden finally asked as Tanya produced a few bags of Chinese takeout.

“Family things.” Tanya explained.

“That’s incredibly vague.” Braden gave Tanya an annoyed glare.

“It isn’t my place to tell you Braden,” Tanya sighed, “You need to ask Carey, he’d be upset if I were the one to tell you all about him.”

“But why?”

“He’s determined to get to know you and for you to get to know him just like you did when you were children.” Tanya explained, “Trust me and just talk to him tomorrow, it’ll be beneficial for you both.”

“You seem a bit cranky.” Braden noted.

“Melody had me run her errands and I couldn’t say no.” Tanya muttered after hesitating for a moment.

Their dinner was eaten quietly, neither of the two really wanting to talk. Braden did the dishes that night to give Tanya a well deserved break and the moment he finished, informed his aunt that he was going to bed early.

His room on the first floor was fairly big, having originally been a den that Tanya converted to a bedroom to house more relatives. Not to mention the fact that Tanya still spent most of her days outside and didn’t really have use for the bonus room of sorts. Braden let himself fall to the bed as he stared up at the ceiling. He felt no desire to read more of the mermaid books, no desire to watch anything, text anyone, or really do  _ anything _ . Instead, all he could think about was Carey and why he disappeared at the same time each night, why he was different, why he had befriended Braden in the first place.

Braden sat and lost himself in thought, losing track of time before he heard a small knock at his window. The goalie sat up with a start, the knock shocking him awake and looked to the window to see Carey standing on the other side, his arms tightly wound around his torso and his face bright red and blotchy with tears.

“Carey?” Braden’s eyes grew wide and he flew to the window, throwing the glass pane open and silently thanking Tanya for not putting screens in that particular window. Quickly, Carey climbed through the window, but didn’t say a word, only sniffling and obviously trying not to let anymore tears fall from his eyes.

“Hey, hey,” Braden cooed, guiding Carey to the bed and sitting him down, “are you alright?”

Carey shook his head, gasping in distress as more tears slipped from his eyes.

“Shit, come here.” Braden frowned, pulling the merman into a hug, “What’s wrong?”

“M-my fucking dad-” Carey choked out, his body shaking slightly as a loud sob escaped him.

Braden froze, Carey hadn’t even mentioned his father before, the Canadian hadn’t even been sure he had one.

“What’d he do?” Braden asked softly.

“Not- N-not-!” Carey cried and shook his head again, “He found o-out that y-you came back-”

“What?” Braden questioned, trying to keep his tone as smooth and calm as possible.

“H-he doesn’t even really l-like me talking with T-Tanya, but he knows Tanya and sh-she rescued mom and-” Carey sobbed.

“Carey, deep breaths ok?” Braden told him.

Carey nodded before taking a moment to breathe. Slowly, but surely, the sobs ebbed away leaving no trace but the blotchy redness on Carey’s face.

“What’s up?” Braden asked again.

“My dad… He really doesn’t like the fact that Tanya and you know I’m a merman. My sister and I are already outcasts as it is, he doesn’t want the tribe finding out that I’ve been hanging around with you again.” Carey explained.

“You and Tanya keep saying how you’re an outcast and that you’re different.” Braden frowned, “Why?”

Carey looked up at him, his eyes soft and he almost looked ashamed,

“I’m… My sister and I aren’t… We aren’t pure blooded merpeople.”

“What?” 

“Mom is a mermaid obviously, you know that, but… Dad,” Carey swallowed nervously, “My dad is human, and the tribe doesn’t like that my mother ‘married’ out of her kind.”

Braden stared at Carey in shock,

“He doesn’t like you hanging around humans because he’s afraid you’ll be shunned even more for it.”

“Exactly.” Carey frowned, “But… I don’t like that rule, I  _ like  _ humans, I love learning about them, I love watching and reading about them, I like being friends with them.”

Braden frowned as Carey looked down.

“I’m already an outsider,” Carey continued, “the tribe hasn’t liked me since day one. I have more human characteristics than anyone beneath the lake already. I lost my best friend once, and I  _ can’t _ lose you again.”

“ _ Oh. _ ” Braden’s eyes drooped as he realized this wasn’t about Carey being disliked, the merman already knew that, this was about losing  _ him. _ Carey couldn’t bear to lose one of his few friends.

“I-I’m sorry.” Carey shook his head, “This is ridiculous.”

“No it isn’t,” Braden countered, prompting Carey to stare at him in surprise, “Tanya told me you didn’t have many friends to begin with, but she didn’t tell me why. Not having friends… it’s lonely, you shouldn’t have to live like that.”

Carey remained speechless, merely staring at Braden through his wide chocolate colored eyes.

“Are you going home tonight?” Braden asked, changing the subject slightly.

“I don’t particularly want to.” Carey mumbled, “we all live in my dad’s house on the weekends and the tribe will get suspicious if I go there…”

“There are enough couches and beds in this house for you to stay here.” Braden offered a small smile, “I have extra sleep clothes around here too.”

“You mean that? I can stay?” Carey asked.

“Of course.” Braden nodded.

A few minutes later, Carey was dressed in a pair of Braden’s sleep pants and another extra shirt, this time an old, worn Saskatoon one. Braden mentally chided himself as he noticed the shirt, noting that he needed to actually look before giving Carey his shirts next time. However, Carey stood confused in the middle of the room.

“You good man?” Braden asked.

“Can… Can I stay in here with you?” Carey asked softly, staring embarrassed at the ground.

“I-” Braden started before noting how upset Carey still looked, “Sure, not a problem.”

And before Braden could react, Carey was on the other side of his bed.

“Thank you.” Carey smiled softly, his eyes conveying how absolutely grateful the merman was for Braden’s offer to stay.

And Braden couldn’t find it in his heart to send him to the other side of the room.

 

_ Hazy, warm, soft. _

_ Braden woke dazed and warm, not unlike he was when drunk. The room was slightly blurry around him, but he felt fine nonetheless. Well, he felt more than fine, he felt that warm, fuzzy, sated tiredness that came in the afterglow of an incredibly satisfying orgasm. A heavy sigh escaped from him as he worked to catch his breath, his body feeling relieved as he moved to stretch. As he did so, Braden’s arm was stopped by something warm cuddled up in the crook of his arm. Looking down, a familiar head of dark, messy hair caught his eye and ear as the figure moaned contently. He stared up at Braden with his big brown eyes and a playful smile, _

_ “We  _ have  _ to do that again.” Carey sighed wistfully, nuzzling up into the crook of Braden’s neck. _

_ Braden hummed in agreement, while Carey moved to twine his legs in with Braden’s. One of the merman’s hands started to draw circles on Braden’s chest, feather light and deliberate. Slowly his hand travelled down, and down, and down- _

Braden’s eyes shot open the moment he realized it was a dream. The sky was still fairly dark, the stars just beginning to fade as the morning light stretched across the calm lake. Braden gave a few heavy breaths as he tried to shake the dream from his mind, knowing exactly the effect it had on him judging by the stiffness between his legs. The image of Carey’s soft, creamy skin and-

_ Oh. _

Braden and Carey had shifted in the night, and the Canadian felt his face run incredibly hot at the fact that the merman was pressed flush to the goaltender’s front, his head tucked carefully beneath Braden’s neck. The younger of the pair gulped slightly at the sight, knowing there was no way to move without waking the water-dweller. Or, half water-dweller? Regardless, Braden was between a rock and a hard place.

Braden lost track of how long it had been since he’d woken up when Carey began to stir. The merman shifted a bit before a yawn escaped his throat followed by his eyelids fluttering softly. Another yawn escaped from Carey before he looked around, then up at Braden with those big, wide, beautiful eyes.

_ Oh. _

“Good morning.” Carey slurred out, his voice rough with disuse from sleep.

“Morning.” Braden whispered back breathlessly, watching as Carey slowly pulled back from him to brush the dark hair from those soul bearing eyes. The merman let out another little yawn before sighing in what sounded like relief.

“Thank you.” Carey smiled as he sat himself up, Braden watching with baited breath as he saw that Carey’s shirt had hitched up on the night, the well toned muscles of his back on full display.

“Hm?” Braden hummed out as Carey turned back to him.

“For letting me stay the night.” Carey continued scratching slightly at his head as a dark flush rose to his cheeks, “Sorry I'm still a bit tired, forgetting words you know?”

“Oh- uh- yeah it’s really not a problem Carey.” Braden nodded while Carey began to stretch a bit more, a soft sigh escaping the dark haired merman’s lips at a particular pop in his back, a sigh that sent a conflicting message down Braden’s spine and- oh fuck was he still hard?

Carey gave a soft hum of amusement before getting up from the bed, the old Saskatoon Blades shirt with Braden’s name and number on it finally falling back into place on the merman’s body. Braden could barely stifle the whine that tried to escape at the sight, something about carey wearing his clothes, wearing  _ his name and number _ -

Braden cut that train of thought as Carey gave a surprised gasp, looking over at the door.

“Uh Car-”

“I think Tanya is cooking!” Carey exclaimed his eyes wide in excitement.

“Um yeah, you go on ahead I’ll uh- I’ll be right there.” Braden faked a smile as Carey nodded then exited the room.

Braden gave a heavy huff, quickly checking beneath the covers to make sure his dick hadn’t decided to stay hard. Luckily, it hadn’t, but now Braden was left with a thought burning in the back of his mind. Carey was a very,  _ very _ , attractive man, Braden had known this since he had jumped into the boat at the beginning of the week, but… there was something about Carey. Something almost special that Braden had never felt before. Sure, Carey was attractive but… he was so kind, so funny, so amazing and wonderful and…

_ Oh. _

_ Oh no. _

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Carey left after breakfast that day, scarfing down his plate of pancakes as if he hadn’t eaten in a week. They hadn’t spoken much further that moment and as Braden watched Carey walk into the boathouse and fling himself back into the lake, a pang of worry struck him, unable to tear his eyes from the red streak that shot along the lake’s surface before inevitably disappearing under the waves.

The day passed slowly.

As did the next.

And the next.

On the third day, Braden woke lying in his bed, worried sick about Carey. The past two days he’d assumed Carey had been spending time with his family, maybe talking? Explaining? But each day that passed without Carey there with him felt… empty. Every day his mind was full of thoughts about the merman, not just about their time together but more… more what they could do. Braden had taken the empty days to think about what it was that he felt for Carey. There was certainly something there, something special, but also something that frightened him. 

Braden had never felt strong  _ romantic _ feelings before. Sure, he had very close friends, strong platonic relationships. The love Braden had for his friends and team were amazing. However, Carey was… he was  _ much _ different than all of his friends. 

To say the least, Carey was amazing and one of the most wonderful people Braden had ever had the pleasure of meeting. He was kind, resourceful, funny, and so incredibly curious and loved to learn. The merman was also one of the most stunning people Braden had ever laid eyes on, perfect, blemishless creamy skin, toned body, chocolate colored eyes, dark hair, the reddened lips… he was beautiful. And that  _ did  _ things to Braden.

Braden gave a small groan as he looked down and realized he’d popped a semi. He hadn’t done anything in weeks and all the pent up energy and… well. Checking his phone, Braden realized Tanya wouldn’t be home for at least two hours…

Quickly Braden rearranged himself on the bed, removing his shirt and pushing his pants off the moment he found a comfortable position. He lazily moved his hands down, running them over his chest down to his thighs, relishing the touch as he gently started to massage his upper thighs. His cock quickly jumped in the game, the arousal in his stomach burning hotter than it had in years.

Impatient and not in the mood to tease himself, Braden took his erection in hand and gave it a few rough tugs to get it fully hard. He hissed at the sensitivity of the skin there but slowly found a rhythm that felt right and at a good pace for him. As he worked his hand up and down his shaft, twisting his fingers over the head and playing with his balls for variation every few strokes, his mind drifted to Carey. Beautiful Carey and that  _ dream  _ he’d had the night the merman had spent the night with him. That beautiful flushed face and wrecked voice, all that bare, beautiful skin. Braden could only imagine what Carey would look like writhing under him. Visions and images of the merman danced through his head as he began to speed his hands up. God how he wanted to pin Carey to the bed and go to town on him. He wanted to rile the merman up nice and slow until he was begging to be fucked, railing him so hard into the bed he wouldn’t be able to walk the next day. But Braden also wanted to treat him lovingly, treat him with care and gentleness. Fuck, he wanted to  _ make love to him _ .

The mere thought of making love to Carey set something off inside Braden. Suddenly, a cascade of moans and sighs escaped from the netminder’s mouth as he felt the tension building in his core. Braden let out a loud cry as he drove himself closer and closer to the edge, Carey’s name just on his tongue as he began to cant his hips up into his hand. With a low, deep moan of Carey’s name, Braden came so hard it was almost like being crashed into, riding it out as the white, sticky substance made a mess of his stomach and hand.

Braden finally stopped when the sensitivity became too much and he focused on settling his breathing. As he recovered from his orgasm the reality of what he’d just done hit him.

He had just jacked off to the thought of Carey.

And came to the thought of making love to him.

_ Oh shit. _

As Braden cleaned up, his mind was reeling at what felt like hundreds of kilometers per hour. He didn’t just like Carey, he really  _ really  _ liked Carey…

Did he lo-

No. No Braden wasn’t thinking about that. Not now.

When Tanya got home, Braden was sitting at the kitchen table his mind going crazy at the thought of being romantically interested in Carey.

“Something’s bothering you.” Tanya sighed as she sat next to Braden with a cupcake tray in front of her.

“I-I’m worried.” Braden started, not really wanting to tell Tanya what was up.

“About?” Tanya asked as she went about unwrapping a chocolate cupcake.

“Carey.”

“Of course you are. I am too.” Taya frowned sadly.

“His father…” Braden began.

“Jerry is certainly a bit different.” Tanya shook her head.

“He’s human.”

“Yes,” Tanya nodded, “Jerry lives right across the lake from me.”

“How’d that even happen?” Braden asked as he rolled around a chunk of pancake on his plate.

“Jerry met Lynda, Carey’s mother, by accident. It was during a rogue squall and Jerry was very far out in the lake. He couldn’t get to shore in time and was thrown from his dingy. Lynda rescued him and as one could guess, Lynda began spending lots of time with him. Eventually they fell in love and were technically married in the eyes of the law of the merpeople. Carey… was… well the best way to put it was that he was unplanned. Lynda wasn’t sure if she could have children with a human and well… she could.”

“I… don’t even want to think about how that works.” Braden shuddered.

“Same way with humans.” Tanya rolled her eyes before chuckling, “The Tribe… wasn’t entirely pleased, but Lynda is the only daughter of the Chief and well, she was, and still is, quite an important part of their society. Carey and his sister… weren’t exactly given the same treatment.”

“Carey mentioned how he wasn’t accepted.” Braden frowned.

“He carries many human traits, more than the merpeople were comfortable with.” Tanya shook her head, “Because of who their mother is, they weren’t outright mocked but… Carey and his sister have not had it easy. Of course Carey is too curious for his own good, and that gets him into trouble quite often-”

“He said Jerry didn’t want him to see me.” Braden cut in suddenly as the thought popped back into his mind.

“... He what?” Tanya narrowed her eyes.

“Jerry doesn’t want Carey near me?” Braden repeated, furrowing his brow as he did so.

“That absolute son of a-” Tanya stopped herself, “Is that why he hasn’t come back lately? Has Jerry locked him in?”

“I-I don’t know?” Braden shook his head.

“That dirty rotten- Braden, we’re going to a friend’s home tonight, I hope you brought nice clothes.”

Most of the day was spent with Braden watching Tanya bustle around the house cooking and baking. About half way through the day she picked up the phone while Braden was still reeling from the information overload he’d been given about Carey’s family and had begun talking in a sickeningly sweet, yet passive aggressive tone,

“Good afternoon Jerry,” she began, “I hope all is well with your family, now, I wound up cooking for some friends that bailed from dinner tonight and I’ve already pre made nearly everything. Would it be alright for me and my nephew to bring some food over and have dinner with you tonight?  _ I’m sure Lynda would love the company. _ ”

Silence.

“Yes of course, we’ll be all dressed up nice.”

More silence.

“If you want all the men in suits that’s fine, but it’s a bit warm.”

Silence again.

“Great! Thanks Jerry, we’ll be over around 6.” Tanya smiled before hanging up the phone.   
“Uh… Auntie-” Braden frowned.

“We’re going to talk some sense into Jerry’s dumb ass tonight.” Tanya told him, “Now, get over here and help me with the sweet potato casserole, it’s one of Lynda’s favorites.”

A few hours later, Braden was dressed into one of the suits Tanya had asked him to bring, his hair combed back neatly, beard cleanly trimmed almost all the way down, and he was standing at the door of what  _ seemed  _ like a small mansion. Tanya was dressed in a nice outfit, almost like one of Queen Elizabeth’s little dress-jacket combos, and smiled as she knocked at the door.

“I have it!” A woman’s voice yelled and within moments Braden and Tanya were greeted by a short woman with skin just darker than Carey’s, but the same, thick black hair fell past her shoulders and a smile that was so warm and genuine Braden swore his entire body warmed up and became more comfortable.

“Tanya!” The woman smiled even broader in excitement as she waved the two in, grabbing two pots from Braden’s tray of food, “Oh come in you two, straight to the kitchen with these.”

Braden followed as Tanya and who he assumed was Lynda as they chatted amicably while moving all the food to the ovens in the huge open kitchen. In the room another girl with dark hair was icing a cake, a beautiful white and pink dress clothing her with an apron thrown over it to protect the garment from icing.

“Kayla dear, can you get your father?” Tanya asked while her friend worked on setting the ovens correctly.

“On it.” The girl, Kayla, smiled.

“Ah!” Tanya spun to Braden, “I forgot to- oh, Braden this is my friend Lynda, she’s Carey’s mother.”

“It’s a pleasure Ms. Lynda.” Braden smiled softly, holding his hand out.

“You must be Braden.” Lynda smiled moving in and giving him a hug and two cheek kisses instead of a handshake, “My son has told me so much about you. Please, make yourself at home, Kayla and my husband Jerry should be down in a moment-”

“Already hear honey.” A man’s voice cut into the room causing everyone to turn. He was a bit shorter than Braden, but his face immediately betrayed the resemblance to Carey and Kayla.

“Jerry, it’s great to see you.” Tanya smiled as she gave the man a hug before gesturing to Braden, “This here is my nephew Braden.”

“Hello,” Braden smiled respectfully and held out his hand even though the explosion of butterflies in his stomach made him feel sick, “I’m Braden Holtby-”

“-Goaltender for the Washington Capitals, I know who you are.” Jerry stared at him, his face devoid of any emotion as he shook Braden’s hand with an iron grip.

“ _ Jerry. _ ” Lynda hissed, “He’s a friend of Carey’s, be nice to him.”

Jerry merely glared at Braden before he gave a huff. Lynda rolled her eyes at him before the girl in the pink and white dress returned.

“Oh, Braden this is our daughter Kayla.” Lynda smiled as Kayla walked up to Braden looking him up and down.

“You’re very tall for a human.” Kayla mused, “I’m Kayla, it’s very nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.” Braden smiled softly greeting her the same way Lynda had greeted him.

A gasp caught Braden’s attention and he looked up to see Carey standing near the stairs through the kitchen door. He was dressed impeccably in a black suit with silver wisp designs, black tie, hair gelled back, but his eyes were wide in what Braden thought looked like… heartbreak?

Before anything could be said, Carey sprinted back up the stairs.

“Ca-” Braden started before realizing he was out of earshot.

Lynda looked up as Carey’s footsteps echoed above them,

“He’s… Well you know he’s skittish but-” she frowned.

“Braden-” Tanya started.

“No.” Jerry frowned before anyone could put forth a coherent sentence.

“Jerry for the love of-” Lynda and Tanya yelled in unison.

“I can go-” Kayla frowned.

“Braden, would you care to get him?” Lynda asked, “He may just be worried you’re here. I wouldn’t blame him considering  _ him. _ ” 

“ _ Hey. _ ” Jerry narrowed his eyes as Lynda jabbed a finger at him.

“Shut up Jerry.” Tanya and Lynda told him.

“Last door in the corridor is Carey’s.” Kayla told him before Jerry could say another word and Braden was gone up the stairs.

Braden walked as fast as he could down the hallway, seeing one door cracked open with light spilling out at the end of the hallway.

“Carey?” Braden called as he reached the door, “Carey, are you alr-”

Braden peered inside to see no one there, just an unmade bed, a messy desk, clothes thrown around and the window open.

“Oh shit.” Braden gasped before sprinting back downstairs and out the kitchen door, ignoring anything that had been yelled at him as he ran. The backyard was large, but there were only so many places Carey could be hiding, and the boat house on the water looked like the best place to start. As quietly as he could, Braden entered the boat house, listening carefully to the sound of heaved breaths. It sounded as if someone was trying not to cry.

As Braden’s eyes adjusted to the darkness of the little structure, he saw the outline of Carey shuddering and shaking in the corner.

“Carey?” Braden cooed softly while Carey’s head shot up at Braden after he’d stepped on a creaky plank.

“What do you want?” Carey sniffled out helplessly, his voice so small and frightened that Braden couldn’t help but feel his heart shatter at the sight.

“You ran off, we were worried.” Braden explained as he moved closer to Carey, only for the merman to press himself tighter to the wall.

“Yeah well, you seemed fine with my sister.” Carey mumbled looking away from Braden as he curled into himself even further.

“Sist- Oh Carey,” Braden frowned, “No, Carey, I didn’t-”

“You kissed her!” Carey shook his head as his voice caught on the words, tears beginning to stream down his face.

“No no no, Carey that isn’t what you- Carey cheek kisses are customary greetings-” Braden froze as he realized what Carey was getting at as the merman stared up at him with those big eyes that made him weak in the knees. This time, Braden let himself fall to them, slowly dropping to the ground to be at eye level to Carey and practically crawling towards the timid merman.

“Carey,” Braden began softly, his heart hammering in his chest.

“B-but you kissed- that’s how my parents greet each o-other and- and-!” Carey stammered through tears.

“No Carey that isn’t…” Braden cut himself off, “Cheek kisses are a greeting.”

“I don’t-” Carey shook his head, “but my novels- they said that-”

“Fuck those stupid romance books,” Braden breathed before rushing forwards, cupping Carey’s face with his hands and pressing a kiss directly onto Carey’s lips.

The merman froze then leaned into Braden, his body seeming to relax completely under the Canadian’s touch. Suddenly his arms were wrapped around Braden’s back, pulling the goaltender in closer, those hot tears still streaming down his face. Braden let out a low groan as Carey practically pulled the Canadian down on top of the him and his hands migrated to Carey’s dark, thick hair, pulling at it and running his fingers through it. 

After a few more moments, Braden felt Carey’s tongue dart out to try to push through Braden’s lips, but before that could happen, the Canadian pulled away. Beneath him, Carey’s face was red, not just from tears, and he was out of breath.

“ _ That _ ,” Braden whispered breathlessly, stroking a hand gently through Carey’s hair, “Is a kiss.”

“U-uh-huh.” Carey nodded, the poor merman not seemingly able to form any sort of coherent noise.

The two of them sat like that for a few minutes before Carey finally tried to prop himself up more. Braden carefully helped him, noting that with Carey’s change in position, they were pressed closer together now.

“I-I’ve wanted you to do that for so long.” Carey’s voice shook as he spoke.

“I think I have too.” Braden smiled before leaning down and softly kissing Carey again, just a quick peck before pulling back, “And I would love to kiss you more, but I think your parents and my aunt are a bit worried.”

“...Oh,” Carey frowned, “I… really did kind of run off didn’t I?”

“Yeah,” Braden shook his head, “it’s alright though, you’re safe that’s all that matters.”

Carey stared up at him, his eyes soft and warm, before he snaked a hand behind Braden’s neck and pulled him in for another kiss. Braden happily obliged.

After fixing Carey’s hair and making sure they were both presentable, the two walked back to the house. As they entered, Jerry spun and gave Carey a very stern look.

“Carey wh-” Jerry started.

“Carey are you alright honey?” Lynda asked, quickly rushing to her son, “oh you look flushed, let's get him some water.”

“You okay bro?” Kayla asked with a frown.

“I'm sorry,” Carey laughed nervously, “I just, suddenly didn't feel well, you all know how I feel about formalish… anything.”

Kayla smiled and playfully punched him in the arm before she went back to frosting the cake while Lynda chuckled at her son.

“Dinner's nearly ready, and we will have  _ no  _ arguments tonight. We have Tanya here and Braden all the way from Washington DC, we're making this dinner fun, alright?” Lynda smiled.

When the table was set and the food spread out, the chatting began. Lynda and Tanya were focused on each other while Kayla and Carey shared the same nervous look, darting their eyes to their father and then to Braden. The young Canadian looked around and saw Jerry was glaring at him and tried to divert his gaze elsewhere. However he couldn't ignore the piercing gaze of Carey’s father.

“So uh, Mr. Jerry,” Braden offered a smile.

“That's Mr. Price to you.” Jerry told him.

“Erm, Mr. Price.” Braden corrected, “What do you do for a living?”

“I'm the goaltending coach for the Tri City Americans.” Jerry responded, his voice sharp and to the point.

“In the WHL?” Braden smiled, “I played for Saskatoon for a few years, I always enjoyed games against the Americans. How'd your season go last year?”

The table froze at Braden’s question and Jerry stared at him in confusion.

“Um, we did alright, we missed playoffs.” Jerry frowned.

“That sucks,” Braden mirrored the upset look, “Missing playoffs is never fun. Why do you coach over west then?”

“The Americans had a position open.” Jerry shrugged.

“Do you like it?” Braden questioned, “I only ask because when I'm done with my NHL career, I'm trying to figure out if I want to go into coaching.”

“... I enjoy it very much actually.” Jerry nodded, “I think it was a good career choice, I love coaching the kids.”

“I'd love to meet you around a rink sometime, maybe during the bye week I can come visit and give your goalies some pointers? Learn how to work with the kids you know?”

“That's an awful long way to visit.” Jerry frowned.

“Your organization has produced some of the highest contending goalies in the NHL, I'd love to see the coaching methods.” Braden smiled warmly.

“Oh uh, of course.” Jerry nodded, “I'm sure the boys would love to see a pro in action.”

The table went silent for a moment before resuming the chatter between Lynda and Tanya and Kayla began talking to Jerry.

“Holy shit,” Carey whispered to Braden, “You managed to not get chewed out.”

“Uh,” Braden cocked his head slightly, “Should I have been worried about that?”

Carey merely laughed before going back to his plate.

After dinner and dessert everyone dispersed around the house. Tanya, Lynda, and Jerry began a new conversation, Kayla disappeared to… somewhere, and Carey dragged Braden upstairs to his room.

“Carey wha- mmpf!” Braden began before being spun around and pushed against the door as Carey pressed a kiss to his lips. Braden gave a low groan before pulling Carey off of him,

“Woah there cowboy, let’s settle for a second.”

Carey pouted as Braden walked them over to the bed and the two had a seat.

“So,” Braden began, “I think we need to talk about this.”

“I would think so.” Carey nodded as he blushed.

“First off, you know to wear clothes on land.” Braden chuckled.

“Yeah, I was fucking with you on that.” Carey laughed softly, “It was absolutely me flirting.”

“You’re ridiculous.” Braden shook his head, “What else were you joking about?”

“Well I know what a TV is.” Carey smiled, “I watch a bit of hockey, a few tv shows, nothing much… um… but… I still don’t get humans?”

“Considering your family, I get that.” Braden nodded, “So…”

“So.” Carey looked down as he blushed bright red.

“So there’s… obviously a mutual affection thing here.” Braden pointed out.

“Yup.” Carey nodded, “I would agree with that statement.”

“How long for you?” Braden asked softly.

“Since the last summer you were here.” Carey whispered, almost unable to say those words.

“What?”

“S-since the last time you were here. You were… so amazing and kind to me, no one but family had ever treated me that way. I did a lot of thinking over the years and realized that I… I didn’t see you as a friend, I saw you as someone I wanted to be with.” Carey spoke quickly, nervously, but managed to make sense in his explanation.

“Oh Carey,” Braden’s face fell, “That long?”

“That’s why I was mad at first, when you didn’t remember me.” Carey admitted, “We were really close and… well…”

“It was really only recently for me.” Braden sighed prompting Carey to stare at him in confusion, “The night you came to my room… I… Well I’d known you were physically attractive then but… seeing you so upset and distraught broke my heart. That’s when I realized that I cared more deeply for you than I have for anyone else in my life.”

“Really?” Carey asked in a small voice.

“Really.” Braden nodded.

“Um,” Carey looked down again, “C-can you uhh… can…”

“Hm?” Braden furrowed his brow as he tried to understand Carey.

“C-could you kiss me again?” Carey asked softly his face drawn up in a pouty, almost begging expression that Braden couldn’t even think of refusing him.

“Of course I can.” Braden smiled before lifting Carey’s chin and pressing his lips softly against the merman’s.

Braden hadn’t noticed it before, so caught up in the moment, but kissing Carey tasted like the sea. It was funny considering Carey lived in the lake, but the hint of salt on his lips certainly tasted ocean-like. It didn’t take long before Carey was practically melting into him again, the merman’s warm body flush against Braden’s as the older of the pair attempted to deepen the kiss, trying to crawl into the younger man’s lap as he did so.

“Hey Carey,” Braden pushed off him slightly, earning a whine from the dark haired man, “let’s take this slowly alright? You’ve never really… Well you’ve only read about human relationships haven’t you?”

Carey flushed at the question before nodding,

“U-um, so…”

“Yes?” Braden questioned, staring at Carey’s confused face.

“Does this mean we can have sex now?”

“ _ Oh my god _ .”

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

 

“ _ Mmm Braden, _ ” Was the sleepy groan that woke Braden as the sun’s rays trickled in through the window. 

The auburn man’s eyes slowly blinked open to the sight of Carey tightly cuddled up into his side. Braden smiled and brushed the hair mussed across Carey’s face. The merman’s eyes were still soft with sleep and Braden was pretty sure it was one of the most adorable things he’d ever seen.

“Morning Carey.” Braden murmured, pressing a soft kiss to Carey’s forehead.

“Morning.” Carey sighed as he cuddled tighter into Braden, “How’d you sleep?”

“Great with you here.” Braden smirked, enjoying the way Carey flushed bright red.

“Is that so?” Carey replied with a sly grin before shifting his hips against Braden’s leg.

Braden chuckled as he felt Carey’s semi-hard cock brush against him, but shook his head.

“I haven’t even taken you on a proper date,” Braden explained, unable to stifle his laughter at all, “We’re going on at  _ least _ one date before we have sex.”

“That’s no fun,” Carey whined playfully.

“If you can be patient for just a few days-” Braden cackled as Carey pinned him down to the bed, “You are absolutely  _ ridiculous _ .”

“I’m just a merman looking for the simple things in life.” Carey shrugged then leaned down to kiss Braden.

“Well, how about this.” Braden smiled as he sat up, Carey still straddling his lap, “I’ll take you on dates for the next three days, and after the third date-”

“That’s a long time to wait.” Carey rolled his eyes.

“Hush, I didn’t finish.” Braden chided with a smile, “I’ll take you out for lunch today, tomorrow we can go on a hike, and on Friday I’ll take you to dinner and we go on a nice evening cruise in the boat.”

“That’s still a long time.” Carey whined.

“You are absurd.” Braden rolled his eyes, “How about a compromise?”

“You have my attention.” Carey responded with curious eyes as his fingers started to trace patterns into Braden’s chest.

“After each date, I’ll give you a surprise.” Braden smirked.

“Do I get to know the nature of said surprises?” Carey arched an eyebrow suggestively.

“I’m sure you can figure it out.” Braden chuckled.

“You’re a tease.” Carey huffed.

“And you want to move too fast.” Braden murmured as he brushed a stray strand of hair from Carey’s eyes, “Three dates, that’s it alright?”

“Fine.”

 

The rest of the morning went by quickly. Carey had decided to swim home before the lunch date which left Tanya and Braden alone in the lake house. The Saskatchewan native could feel Tanya’s knowing eyes on him as he went about his daily routine. It was unnerving, but Braden knew it was inevitable. They weren’t that subtle.

“So,” Tanya grinned, “how’s our merboy doing?”

“He’s just fine auntie.” Braden told her as he scrubbed down the breakfast bar.

“Sure seems that way,” she laughed softly, “I’m glad the two of you are happy.”

“We’re that obvious?” Braden blushed.

“Braden, I’ve known the  _ both  _ of you for your whole lives, if I didn’t see it I’d be blind.” Tanya snickered, “I’d recommend the little cafe on Azure street.”

“The French bakery styled one?” Braden asked.

“Yes! Very cute and very nice for a first date.” Tanya winked.

“ _ Oh my god. _ ”

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Braden arrived at Carey’s house just before noon. He parked the Jeep in the street then took a breather before getting out and walking over to knock on the door. He gave a few good raps before waiting on the front porch. As he stood there, his stomach twisted in nervousness, an odd feeling considering it was just Carey he was taking out… He was taking Carey out, on a  _ date. _

The nervousness was suddenly replaced by giddiness as Carey opened the door. The merman was smiling softly, and was dressed in a simple white tee shirt and jeans.

“Hey there,” Carey grinned sheepishly.

“Long time no see.” Braden joked before the two descended into a fit of laughter.

“So,” Carey smiled as Braden lead him to where the Jeep was parked, “Where are we going?”

“Tanya recommended a little French bakery and I figured we could get lunch and pastries?” Braden offered with a beaming smile.

“That sounds like fun.” Carey replied with a giggle.

The drive over was easy. Carey was too enamored by the passing scenery to make much conversation, but Braden didn’t mind. When they parked Carey just… sat there for a moment. Gently Braden put a hand on his shoulder, prompting the merman to look at him. 

“Ah, I’m… I’m a bit nervous.” Carey mumbled out.

“Why’s that?” Braden murmured softly, running his hand in circles on Carey’s shoulder.

“I-” Carey frowned, “I don’t quite know? I haven’t been in town many times, but I feel safe with you and-”

“Are you maybe nervous about going on a date?” Braden suggested with a smile.

“... Maybe.” Carey blushed.

“Carey, you’re fine.” Braden chuckled, “It’s just lunch.”

“B-but it’s lunch with you and I don’t wanna mess it up and-” Carey blurted out before his eyes went wide and his blush deepened.

“There we go,” Braden smiled then kissed Carey’s cheek, “it’s okay to be nervous about it, but it’ll be alright, ok?”

“Y-yeah,” Carey nodded, “s-sorry for just… blurting that out.”

“Hey,” it was Braden’s turn to frown as Carey spoke, “getting out emotions and conflict is important. Talking to one another about issues or worries we have is the key to building a good relationship.”

“... So… communication is key?” Carey asked.

“Communication is key.” Braden nodded.

The walk to the little bakery was also an easy trip. Braden eyed up the library across the street as they walked, but made sure Carey didn’t see him looking. They were easily seated and once the drink orders were in, Braden looked to see Carey gazing curiously at the menu.

“Have you been out to eat before?” Braden questioned.

“... Uh…” Carey scrunched his face in thought, “Once or twice? Not often or well… Not for a long while at least.”

“Need help deciding?” Braden asked with a smile, scanning the menu for all the different sandwiches and appetizers.

“Maybe?” Carey frowned again.

“Well, what do you like to eat?”

“Not fish.” Carey told him seriously, his eyes hard as he spoke, “Never  _ ever  _ fish.”

“Well, that’s definitely good to know.” Braden told him with a soft grin, “What about… oh Carey look they do crepes here too, would you prefer that?”

“Crepes?” Carey furrowed his brow in confusion as he scanned the menu again.

“Yeah they're kind of like really thin pancakes, they're very sweet.” Braden smiled as he pointed them out on the laminated paper.

Carey’s wide eyes carefully went over the menu again, his tongue poking out of his mouth slightly in concentration.

“Oh I love strawberries,” Carey smiled softly, “I’m ready to order, how about you?”

“Yeah I’m ready.” Braden nodded.

When the waitress came back and they placed their orders, Braden found himself with a deep flush on his face. Of course Carey would do something like order the strawberry and cream crepes, though Braden had no idea if Carey knew of the connotations that particular snack had. The waitress had giggled before walking off with their order and glasses. Braden watched as she threw a knowing smile at him, placing the glasses down and putting a finger to her lips in an ‘I’ll keep it quiet’ motion.

“Bray?” Carey asked, drawing the goalie’s attention back to the merman, “Are you good?”

“Oh yeah sorry, I’m fine,” Braden chuckled nervously, “I think our waitress knows who I am.”

“Oh?” Carey asked with inquisiting eyes, “Are you really that well known?”

“Well Canada and Hockey go together like… well, a mermaid and water.” Braden smirked at the terrible joke.

Carey took a moment before he snorted out a laugh, “That was  _ bad _ .”

“What can I say, I’m a connoisseur of terrible jokes.” Braden laughed as he gave a shrug.

“I can’t believe the man I like is a goalie who loves terrible jokes.” Carey snickered.

“Guilty as charged.” Braden grinned back.

“But… hockey really is big in Canada then.” Carey mused.

“It’s Canada’s game for sure,” Braden nodded, “I’ve done fairly well for myself, a lot of people know who I am because of it… it’s a bit weird, but a lot of people look up to me and see me as their hero… I want to do well for them you know?”

“You want to be the best person you can for the people who care for you.” Carey surmised.

“Yeah, exactly.” Braden sighed, “It’s rough at times, but all the stress of it just- it melts away when you get to see all the smiles on kids’ faces.”

“They don’t really care who wins or loses,” Carey started softly, “they just love the game.”

“... Did you ever want to play?” Braden asked quietly, almost regretting the question as Carey’s face fell.

“I did.” He admitted, “I- I wanted to be a goalie like dad, not just because I thought it’d make him proud but-”

“But?” Braden frowned.

“I wanted to be a normal kid.” Carey’s shoulders fell as he spoke, “I wanted to run around with kids my age and do things with kids my age when I was growing up. The only person I had for the longest time was my little sister a-and then you came along.”

“Oh Carey.” Braden frowned, reaching across the table and grasping Carey’s hand in his.

“When I met you it was as if I  _ could  _ be normal, but then you disappeared and I- I didn’t know what to do with myself.” Carey hung his head with a sigh, “Fuck, sorry, I just killed the mood didn’t I?”

“Carey,” Braden’s face softened in sympathy, “talking about this kind of stuff is important in a relationship, even if it comes up accidentally. I love learning more about you, the good parts of your life and the bad, they’re what shaped the wonderful person you are today.”

Carey’s eyes widened in surprise and a dumbfounded expression crossed his face. A soft blush began to creep up the merman’s neck and he looked away in embarrassment as he bit his lip. Braden smiled at Carey’s sudden bout of shyness.

“Carey, honey,” Braden chuckled, “there’s no need to be shy about this.”

“I-I-” Carey stuttered before their waitress arrived with their food.

The merman immediately thanked the waitress and tried to go about eating his food. Carey stared at his plate for a moment in confusion at the three triangles of pancake and syrupy sweetness.

“You good there?” Braden asked, arching an eyebrow in amusement.

“‘M fine.” Carey nodded, his voice to strained for it to have been the truth.

Braden merely chuckled as he picked up the warmed sandwich in front of him. A moment later he looked up to Carey treating the crepes as finger food, which they technically could be, but it was a bit odd for a restaurant. Braden couldn’t help but give a soft laugh at the sight, prompting an indignant huff from his partner. In spite, Carey took a large bite of the pastry, but quickly froze and stared at the food in his hands.

“Yeah?” Braden smiled as Carey made a delighted noise.

“It’s delicious!” Carey grinned from ear to ear, excitedly taking another bite.

Braden laughed at Carey’s giddiness then went back to his sandwich. 

When he was finishing up, he looked to Carey only to feel a blush rising to his cheeks. The merman was a bit of a mess, with sticky syrup stuck to his fingers and a little bit of cream mussed at the corners of his lips. The pitfall of warmth in Braden’s stomach attested to the almost erotic image before him. Quickly, the goalie stopped his mind from going even further into the gutter.

“H-hey Carey?” Braden breathed, “Y-you’ve got a- a-”

Carey arched an eyebrow at him quizzically , “What?”

“A- erm… You’ve got-” Braden stammered before grabbing a napkin and wiping the merman’s face quickly.

Carey flushed a deep red immediately at the contact and sat frozen as Braden returned to his seat.

“I- uh,” Braden gulped, “You had some schmutz?”

“... schmut-  _ Oh,  _ I got the cream  _ everywhere _ didn’t I?”

“That’s uh- that’s a word for it.” Braden blushed.

Carey flashed him a coy smile before finishing his food.

When they went about paying, the waitress nervously asked for an autograph, to which Braden happily obliged. The young girl chattered about how she was a goalie and how she’d keep quiet because she was gay as well while Braden smiled and her.

“Thank you!” She giggled as she held the little napkin up.

“It’s no problem, I hope I’ll see you in the NCAA or NWHL soon.” Braden replied, “Always fun to see the younger goalies move their way up in the world.”

“Thank you.” The girl beamed before walking off with their dishes, the napkin stuffed into her belt.

“She was very friendly.” Carey grinned watching the waitress do a little happy dance as she opened the door to the break room.

“It’s nice to make people’s days like that.” Braden smiled before offering his hand out to Carey, “Now I seem to remember promising you a surprise?”

The minute Braden brought Carey to the front of the library, he knew he’d made a good choice. The merman took one look at the building before looking to Braden with the most overjoyed expression the goalie had ever seen. Without saying a word, he lead Carey in through the door and to the stacks upon stacks of books lined up in shelves.

“Oh my god,” Carey whispered, his eyes darting every which way, “Braden I’ve never- I’ve never seen so many books in my life!”

“I figured you’d like it.” Braden smiled, “I’ve got a card, so go pick out whatever you’d like.”

“How does it work?” Carey asked, Braden sensing the overwhelmed nerves emanating from the merman.

“Well, you borrow them,” Braden explained, “You pick out a book or two, bring them home, read them, then bring them back and pick out new ones.”

“ _ Oh _ .” Carey’s eyes sparkled in wonder as he looked around again, “Well, what do you like to read?”

“Uh…” Braden flushed, “I haven’t had time to read much this summer, but I managed to go through this great book during all the travel we did this season…”

Three hours, forty six minutes, and thirty one seconds later, Braden and Carey emerged from the library. Carey had insisted on Braden getting at least  _ one  _ book, which he had, but Carey…  The merman had been so overwhelmed he’d nearly broke down crying in the fiction section. 

It had been simultaneously terrifying and adorable. Carey loved books so much that he just… couldn’t contain his excitement to see so many of them. After he’d regained his bearings, Carey had searched through all the stacks in the fiction section specifically to find new things to read. Braden looked a few up to tell Carey what they were about, and after hours of contemplation, Carey had decided on the first two Harry Potter books.

“You’ve really never read them?” Braden asked as they left.

“No,” Carey shook his head in embarrassment, “I was so caught up in the hockey books and romance novels Tanya gave me that I never really bothered.”

“Oh Carey you’ll love them.” Braden pressed a kiss to Carey’s cheek before looking to see the sun falling in the sky, “It’s getting late.”

“Yeah.” Carey sighed wistfully, “Can I come back to your place tonight? Maybe we can watch a movie?”

“You know what, I don’t see why not.” Braden laughed.

They arrived home to an empty house. Tanya had left a note on the kitchen table detailing how she’s been invited out with Carey’s mother that night. The two found dinner being kept warm in the oven and some brownies cooling on the stove.

After depositing the books in Braden’s bedroom, the two went to the tv room to choose a movie. Braden was looking up things to watch on his phone while Carey rummaged around in the cabinets. The goalie pondered over whether Carey would like action, romance, comedy-

“Oh, what are these?” Carey asked, snapping Braden’s head out of his phone.

The merman was holding up some old Disney VHS tapes and giving them a weird look.

“Oh, those are tapes,” Braden explained.

“No, no, what  _ are  _ they?” Carey asked, “I know you’ve read the happier Little Mermaid story to me, but... it’s a movie too?”

“The book I read you is a novelization of that movie.” Braden smiled, “Have… you never seen a Disney movie before?”

Carey shook his head, “I wasn’t allowed out of the water until I was 18 remember? And even then, dad  _ still  _ doesn’t let me watch a lot of television stuff.”

“Well then, lucky for us your dad isn’t here and I have a VCR.” Braden smirked then walked over to the player, setting the movie up.

As the sound system kicked on and the movie started, Braden situated himself on the couch. He watched as Carey stared at the screen in interest before making his way over to the couch. The merman settled himself practically on top of Braden, causing the goalie to laugh.

“What?” Carey asked with a puzzled expression in his eyes.

“You comfortable?” Braden chuckled, looking down at how Carey had curled himself up in the younger man’s lap.

“Yes, very.” Carey grinned, his smile akin to a cheshire cat’s.

Braden rolled his eyes as Carey cuddled further into him, but wrapped an arm around the merman nonetheless. 

Carey was very into the movie to say the least. Each scene on the screen was met with wide eyed wonder, excitement, and pure, raw emotion. The merman made slight commentary on the differences between the lake mermaids and the ones on screen, but for the most part his vocalizations were kept to gasps and giggles of joy. Braden felt his heart swell as he payed more attention to Carey than the movie. Being able to show Carey all these new things and teach him more about humans thrilled the goaltender.  _ He  _ got to share pop culture staples with Carey,  _ he  _ got to hold Carey’s hand and show him the streets and shops in town,  _ he  _ got to introduce Carey to, dare he say, a whole new world.

Braden supposed he’d save  _ Aladdin  _ for another time.

When the movie came to a close, Carey watched in awe as Ariel was scooped into Prince Erik’s arms. Braden watched the merman’s hopeful gaze with curiosity. He’d obviously enjoyed the movie, but what was that look he was making?   
“Do… Do they live happily ever after?” Carey asked, eyes focused wholly on the screen still, “Like, forever?”

“That’s the way this version goes, yeah.” Braden nodded as Carey turned back to face him, chocolate eyes shining with adoration.

“Do… Do we get to have that?” Carey asked softly, the words barely audible to Braden’s ears.

“I-” Braden was completely caught off guard by the question, “We can certainly try.”

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

As luck would have it, Carey knew the physicality and mindset for going on hikes. Apparently, Mr. Price had seen it important to educate his son on outdoorsman/survival techniques. The hike itself had been fairly uneventful because of this. Of course, that didn’t mean it was boring.

As soon as they’d reached the starting point closest to Tanya’s, Carey had shown Braden the different types of flora and fauna that lined the hiking path around the lake. Years of hikers had worn down the trail, but along its side, plantlife was bursting. The merman seemed to know details about each and every single one of the plants and trees around the area. As Carey spoke and explained the forest to him, Braden listened, astounded by all the knowledge the merman had about nature.

Eventually, the pair made it to a clearing, and Braden pulled off his pack. Carey arched an eyebrow at him in confusion, but smiled as the Canadian produced a picnic sack and lunches for the both of them. 

The two ate in relative silence, merely watching the sun reflect off the lake and the wind rustle the trees. Even when they finished their lunches, both men remained quiet. However, just as Braden was about to ask Carey about dinner tomorrow, a loud rumble of thunder sounded from behind them. Carey’s eyes flew wide at the sound and he covered his ears as he saw the storm clouds rolling in. Braden frowned at the frightened look on Carey’s face and quickly packed the blanket and lunch messes up.

“If we run, we won’t be caught in the rain for long.” Baden told Carey, holding his hand out for the merman to grasp.

Carey didn’t respond, only shaking his head when another crack of thunder came from above. 

“Carey?” Braden asked, grabbing the dark haired man’s shoulders, “Carey, c’mon, let’s go!”

“If- if I get wet-” Carey stammered, watching as a rainline started to race towards them.

Braden furrowed his brow before spotting a tiny shack a little further down the path.

“Come on!” He yelled, grabbing Carey’s hand and pulling the merman with him as he made a dash for the covering.

Carey yelped, but quickly made pace behind Braden, letting himself be thrown into the dingy structure when they’d reached it. Braden clambered in after Carey, shutting the half broken door behind them. However, when Braden looked back to Carey, his heart sank.

The merman was sitting on the floor of the hut, hands over his ears again, and his eyes scrunched closed. It took Braden a moment to notice, but the merman was shaking as well.

“Carey?” Braden asked, dropping to his knees in front of the trembling merman.

Two watery chocolate eyes met his gaze a moment later, wide and full of fear. Braden’s face fell at the sight and a protective instinct surged in him as he immediately wrapped his arms around Carey. The merman curled into Braden, pressing his face into the auburn haired man’s chest as he shook.

Braden pressed soft kisses to the top of Carey’s head as the rain began to fall. It wasn’t a soft rain, but a torrential sounding downpour. The merman made a pitiful whine as he threw his arms around Braden, shaking his head as he tried to pull Braden down on top of him.

“Carey, honey,” Braden cooed softly, “I’m here, it’s alright.”

“I-I hate the th-thunder.” Carey whimpered.

“It’s ok, lots of people do.” Braden reassured him, “I’m here, I won’t let it hurt you.”

“Wh-when the thunder c-comes,” Carey blubbered, “it sounds like they’re b-being  _ taken away _ .”

The storm continued on for only an hour longer. Braden had sat down on the floor when water had started seeping into the old, dirt floor and had pulled Carey onto his lap. The younger of the pair remembered through Carey’s blubbering that if he got wet, his fluke would come out. Even though they were out of view from the trail, Braden understood the fear Carey had of being walked in on. What also worried Braden, was the whole ‘being taken away’ thing. He didn’t understand what Carey was talking about at all, but as the merman trembled and sobbed into his chest, all he could think to do was hold him and keep him close.

When the rain finally came to a stop, Carey was only sniffling, but still visibly shaken. Braden pressed gentle kisses to Carey’s face while having the merman work through some breathing exercises to calm down.

“Carey? Are you alright now?” Braden asked softly, pulling back and tilting Carey’s head up with a hand.

“I-I think so.” Carey nodded, wiping his eyes, “Ugh, I’m sorry I freaked out, I just- I  _ hate  _ thunder.”

“I definitely picked up on that,” Braden offered him a sympathetic smile, “But… what was with that ‘taken away’ talk?”

Carey’s face immediately went stone cold and he wrenched his head out of Braden’s grasp, instead choosing to focus on the ground.

“Carey?” Braden frowned.

“Did… Did Tanya tell you about the fishing company? The new one?” Carey muttered.

“Vaguely? She mentioned mermaids not returning because of them?” Braden furrowed his brow in confusion, “What do they have to-”

“The fisherman have been stealing merfolk.” Carey spat with a scowl, “We haven’t talked about it, it’s- it’s a very touchy subject,  _ obviously _ , but-”

“Woah woah woah,” Braden shook his head, “Merpeople have been  _ stolen _ from the colony?”

“Yeah.” Carey huffed, “They nearly got Kayla-”

“ _ Carey _ ,” Braden hissed, “Why didn’t you  _ tell me? _ ”

“... I didn’t want you or Tanya to worry.” Carey sighed, “We’ve been fine, they’ve only been going for the outer fishing areas but-”

“They nearly got Kayla.” Braden frowned.

“They’ve moving closer to the city.” Carey hung his head, “We have no idea how they’re being caught, but it’s why dad’s been keeping us on land.”

“On-” Braden’s eyes widened, “Carey, you weren’t supposed to be in the water at all this Summer, were you?”

“No.” Carey admitted, “I’m… I haven’t been  _ allowed _ in the water since the first kidnapping.”

“ _ Carey, _ ” Braden gasped, eyes widening in disbelief, “ _ what if they’d gotten you? _ ”

“It’d be better than being locked in my room for who knows how long.” Carey shot back, “I’ve been sneaking out since Tanya told me you were coming- I couldn’t risk not being able to see you Braden.”

“Carey Price, if you’d been caught, you’d have missed me anyways.” Braden frowned, cuping Carey’s cheek, “Tell me you told your parents you were with me today.”

“They know,” Carey sighed leaning into the touch, “Mom is confident that I’ll be safe with you and Tanya.”

“Promise me one thing?” Braden asked softly.

“Anything.” Carey breathed back, their faces mere centimeters away from each other.

“No more sneaking out, I’ll come get you from your house if we do anything, but no more risking getting caught.”

“Only if we can still do dinner and the boat ride tomorrow.” Carey told him seriously.

“I’ll run it by your parents-”

“We  _ are  _ going for dinner and a boat ride tomorrow.” Carey pressed, his eyes cutting into Braden with an intensity that made the Canadian shiver.

“... Alright.”

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Braden had wound up telling Mr. and Mrs. Price that he and Carey  _ were _ going to dinner. He’d omitted the fact that there’d be a boat ride involved, mostly because he didn’t want to upset Carey on what could be his last journey on or in the lake for… a long time he surmised.

The day had dragged on until the date. Braden had left Carey at home after he’d spoken with the Prices and had basically dont odd jobs for Tanya until it was time for him to get ready. The Canadian picked out the same suit he’d worn to the Price’s home for dinner just over a week before, but a different tie. He’d managed to find a tie that matched the color of Carey’s fluke, and thought the merman would find it charming if not a little funny.

As he stood at the door with a bouquet of yellow and red roses, Braden felt his heart begin to thump nervously. The casual dates were definitely more his forte, but formal dinner dates… Braden knew he’d be better when they got to the restaurant, but the lead up always brought out anxiousness in him.

After a few knocks, the door opened to reveal Mr. Price staring Braden down.

“G-good evening Mr. Price.” Braden offered a small smile.

“Good evening to you as well Braden.” Jerry greeted, “What time do you plan on having my son back here?”

“Um, I was hoping, if it isn’t too much to ask, If he could stay with me at Tanya’s tonight?” Braden asked, feeling his face flush the same color as his tie.

Jerry stared him down for a moment, but gave a soft chuckle,

“It’s good to see someone care for him.”

“Uh-” Braden flushed hotter.

“I’ve been a bit of a hard ass recently,” Jerry shook his head, “I know I haven’t been the best father to Carey and Kayla, but… my son is in capable hands isn’t he?”

“Mr. Price…” Braden frowned.

“I-it’s alright, you can call me Jerry.” Jerry smiled, “I put on the grump show to try and scare you and Tanya off. Linda would never put up with me being an asshole all the time.”

“I- oh.” 

“Carey and Kayla both think I’m still the stern, strict authority figure, but I really do want what’s best for them.” Jerry smiled, “I can see how much you love my son, Braden, just let me know if there’s anything I can do for the both of you.”

“Um a-alright- th-thank you-” Braden stuttered.

“Braden!”

Braden looked up and felt his jaw drop at the sight. 

Carey was standing there, hair perfectly combed and gelled, cheeks flushed, and his body clothed in an incredibly well tailored, dark green hued suit that hugged his entire being perfectly. The merman gasped when he saw the flowers and quickly ran up to Braden, nearly knocking his father out of the way, and pressed a quick kiss to the goalie’s cheek.

“For me?” Carey asked the moment the flowers caught his eyes.

“For you.” Braden nodded, offering Carey a shy smile.

“I guess you two are all set then.” Jerry chuckled, clapping Carey on the back, then walking back towards the kitchen.

Carey gave a soft laugh as he watched his father exit the room, before turning a blinding smile back at Braden,

“Thank you, they’re beautiful.”

“I hoped you’d like them.” Braden sighed, his eyes sweeping over the beauty of Carey’s form, “You look… You look amazing.”

Carey flushed a deep red at his words then his eyes widened as they fell upon Braden’s chest.

“That tie,” Carey gasped, “it- it’s the same color as-”

“Your fluke.” Braden finished with a sheepish grin.

“Did- did you pick that… because....” Carey’s mouth fell open slightly.

“I thought you’d like that too.” Braden finished for him.

Carey nodded, speechless at the gesture, his eyes bright with surprise. Braden offered yet another smile as he handed the flowers to the merman. A soft breath of excitement came from the older of the pair as he graciously accepted the bouquet.

“Shall we find a vase for these?”

___________________________________________________________________________________________

The restaurant was an intimate little bistro, lit by fairy lights and candles. The table was tucked away in a corner, roses adorning the centrepiece and a bottle of red wine already ready to be uncorked. A soft smile graced Carey’s face when Braden pulled the chair out for the merman to sit in and the younger of the pair couldn’t help but grin softly back.

The dinner was spent speaking in low, soft voices and tender glances. Both men were considerably more shy then they had been for the previous week, but Braden figured it was because this was their first  _ real  _ date. Of course lunch dates and hikes counted, but… this… The soft flowery aroma, coupled with the wine and overall formal, romantic setting set Braden’s heart practically aflame for the beautiful man before him. Carey had spent most of the evening exchanging soft glances with Braden, his face ruddy with a shy blush every time he caught the goalie’s eyes. 

When the bread basket arrived before their food, both men reached out at the same time to grab a slice, but Braden’s hand fell atop Carey’s. The pair looked up at each other and shared a laugh.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been very talkative,” Carey laughed softly, “I’m… I don’t know why I’m so flustered tonight.”

“It’s alright,” Braden chuckled back, “I think we’re in the same boat if you catch my drift.”

“You and your puns and your bad jokes.” Carey giggled, his lips turning up into a large grin, “I love you.”

Braden’s heart fluttered at those three words. They hadn’t been said often by either man yet, but neither doubted the love and care both had in their hearts for one another. Of course, Braden nor Carey could pinpoint exactly where and how their feelings for each other had grown that much, but both knew they were there to stay. All Braden knew however, was that Carey was special. Not just because when he jumped into a body of water, a stunning red fluke replaced his legs, but because he was genuine. Genuine and kind, soft yet confident, and ever so curious Carey. The goaltender knew deep in his heart he’d never meet anyone like the man who sat in front of him, again not just because he was a merman. The way Carey just went about  _ life  _ was amazing to Braden. The merman was full of optimism and energy, his excitement knew no bounds, his curiosity was admirable, and Braden had never met anyone who tore through books as fast. 

Braden had never had feelings stronger for anyone as he did for Carey.

At first, Braden thought it was a protective, brother-like love, especially when he was younger. However, as he’d gotten to learn who Carey was again, that love deepened to something much,  _ much _ more. 

Dinner came and went, with dessert following close after. Carey had drunk a little more wine than Braden, and was much more ruddy and loose because of it. Braden chuckled as he helped Carey back into the Jeep before they set off back to Tanya’s.

Luckily, Braden had managed to get Tanya to go to a girls night with some of the other ladies in the neighborhood, so when he arrived back with Carey, the house itself was empty. Carey looked out suspiciously, frowning at the lack of lights  _ in  _ the house.

“Braden,” Carey huffed, “there’s light but-”

“Sh, it’s a surprise.” Braden hushed him before covering Carey’s eyes with a blindfold.

He walked the merman out to the back, where he’d set up a little area for the two of them, again lit by the softest of fairy lights. When Braden removed the covering from Carey’s eyes, he gasped. The merman’s eyes widened at the sight, then turned to Braden with his brow softened in disbelief.

“Is… Is this all for me?” Carey asked quietly as Braden took the older man’s hands in his.

“Of course it is,” Braden smiled back, pressing a kiss to Carey’s forehead, “I pulled it out of one of your novels-”

“Braden,” Carey’s eyes watered ever so softly as he spoke, “it’s wonderful.”

Braden felt his smile grow before leaning down and softly capturing Carey’s lips in his own. The merman sighed into Braden, but frowned as the goalie pulled away.

“Hold on.” Braden laughed as he walked to the porch where a stereo was hidden.

As he hit a button, the soft sound of a slow, moving band filled the air of the backyard. Braden walked briskly back to carey who was staring at him in confusion.

“Do you know how to dance?” Braden asked softly, brushing a strand of hair behind Carey’s ear.

“N-no.” Carey replied, his voice quiet and eyes wide in awe.

“Well, then,” Braden sighed placing his hands on Carey’s hips, “I’ll lead you along, hands on my shoulders and…”

For what felt like hours, the two dances and swayed slowly to the music. Soft instrumentals and famous love songs poured from the stereo, echoing the newfound love between the goalie and his merman. Braden hummed softly as Carey’s forehead leaned against his own, content and happy in their own little world.

“Braden?” Carey asked suddenly.

“Hm?”

“Are uh… can we still go for a boat ride?” Carey batted his eyelashes, his face drawn up into the same pout he liked to pull whenever he wanted something.

“Of course.” Braden chuckled softly, unable to resist the Carey equivalent of puppy dog eyes.

Braden had already made sure there was a good bottle of wine in the boat, and as they rowed out, Carey inspected the bottle. The two sat in silence, simply enjoying one another’s company as they made it to the center of the lake. It was quiet there, the only sound being the water lapping against the side of the boat, and it was dark. That darkness however, was countered by what was above the two of them.

The stars were bright and shining that night. Not a single cloud lay in the sky, the view unobscured, perfect.

Braden had removed one of the benches in the rowboat, allowing for a blanket to be put on the floor and he and Carey both settled into it, staring up at the sky.

“This,” Carey smiled, his eyes soft and serene, “is wonderful, everything has been wonderful tonight Braden. Thank you.”

“I wanted to make it special.” Braden responded softly, pressing a kiss to Carey’s cheek while more and more stars appeared as the Earth turned.

“When do you go home?” Carey asked with a sigh.

“Not for another few days, I have to leave by next week though.” Braden murmured, dreading the fact that he’d have to leave Carey.

“It’s alright.” Carey reassured him as if he had read the goalie’s mind, “Promise you’ll visit soon though?”

“As soon as I can.” Braden told him, taking Carey’s cheeks in his hands and pressing a kiss to the older man’s lips.

Suddenly, the boat began to rock on some wake, prompting a laugh from Braden as he tried to steady the boat.

“Who’s out here so late?” Carey giggled as he helped Braden stop the rowboat’s violent rocks.

“I wouldn’t doubt the power boaters around the lake to be out, it’s beautiful tonight.” Braden shrugged, looking out, but only seeing the green depth marker, the same one he’d seen on the first day out on the lake.

Carefully, Braden settled himself back on the rowing bench and looked around,

“Where to?”

“I don’t know,” Carey frowned before smiling again, “it’s up to you I guess.”

“Making me take charge I see.” Braden gave a low laugh at Carey’s narrowed eyes.

“Well, we could always head back,” Carey smirked, “I haven’t forgotten the promise you gave me.”

“Oh?” Braden arched a brow, feigning confusion, “And what was that promise I made you?”

“I seem to remember a certain someone promising me a night of… activities.” Carey’s voice took on a sultry tone as he crawled on his knees in between Braden’s legs.

“You’re ridiculous.” Braden laughed, knowing Carey was trying to get a rise out of him.

“I’m well aware.” Carey chuckled before flopping back down to stare at the stars.

Braden smiled as he thought of the way he’d decorated his room back at Tanya’s. He’d wanted to make everything about this night special, especially what he’d promised Carey days beforehand. Candles and roses and all those lovely-

Suddenly Carey jolted up, his eyes wide and ears twitching slightly.

“Uh, Carey?” Braden furrowed his brow.

“Something’s watching us.” Carey hissed, his voice taking on an inhuman lilt as his hair started to stand on end.

“Watching-” Braden started, but couldn’t finish because the next thing he knew, everything was black and cold.

________________________________________________________________________________________

“-aden! Braden!” A woman’s voice rang in Braden’s ears as what felt like hammers pounded painfully in his head.

Slowly, Braden blinked his eyes open, trying to rid his vision of the blurriness caused by his throbbing head. He frowned as he looked up, watching as his vision finally cleared up enough to see Kayla sitting above him. 

“K-Kayla?” Braden groaned, rubbing at his eyes which were stinging with salt.

Salt?

Braden looked around to see he was laying on the Price’s backyard, his entire being drenched in the cold waters of the lake. Kayla was above him, sopping wet as well.

“ _ Carey?!” _ Braden suddenly remembered, bolting upright and looking for the dark haired merman.

“Braden- Braden calm down!” Kayla told him, gripping his shoulders and forcing him out of his blind fear.

“Kayla, where’s- where’s Carey-” Braden stammered.

“... Braden what do you remember?” Kayla asked slowly.

“We were on the boat, Carey said something about being watched, then… then nothing.” Braden whispered, “Kayla-”

“The fucking scientists.” Kayla growled, “Mom! Dad!”

Linda and Jerry came running as they heard Kayla’s voice cry out, both staring in horror as they saw Carey wasn’t there.

“Braden-” Jerry grit his teeth, “tell me you weren’t on the lake.”

“... Mr. Price, I promised Carey- I- I didn’t-” Braden shook his head, “We were out by the green bouy.”

“ _ Fuck! _ ” Jerry roared, “ _ Braden, I told you to- _ ”

“Jerry!” Linda fired back, snapping Jerry’s attention to her.

“They took our  _ son! _ ” Jerry screamed.

“Braden was only trying to be a gentleman!” Linda yelled back, “It was a  _ date  _ Jerry, we’ve both done stupid shit together too-”

“ _ GUYS! _ ” Kayla raised her voice above the din.

Everyone’s eyes turned to the mermaid.

“My brother, your son, and your boyfriend, is fucking missing,” Kayla pointed out, “we have no goddamn time to argue.”

“Braden, by the buoy-” Linda began.

“I don’t remember anything but Carey saying we were being watched.” Braden hung his head, “I should’ve listened to you Mr. Price, this is all my fault.”

“The fisherman have him,” Kayla explained, “I saw one of their vessels, the white coats were on board. I lost them when I saw Braden was going to drown.”

“You did the right thing.” Jerry huffed suddenly, frowning sympathetically at Braden, “Linda, call Tanya, Braden, Kayla, come with me.”

Kayla nodded as her tail separated back into a pair of jean clad legs and got up, pulling Braden with her. They followed Jerry to the boathouse as they heard Linda get a hold of Tanya.

“Dad… what’re we going to do?” Kayla asked softly as Jerry opened the boat house’s garage-like door.

“I know where they have Carey.” Jerry explained, “We’re going to get him back.”

“U-uh, Mr. Price, I don’t think-” Braden frowned.

“I have a contact on the inside,” Jerry revealed, “he’s been feeding Linda and I information for months.”

“... Dad… why didn’t you tell us?” Kayla asked softly, her eyes wide in disbelief.

“Because I know you and your brother too well.” Jerry sighed, “I had to be sure it was safe to go in and make a rescue effort before you all found out.”

Kayla gave an exasperated sigh before muttering, “I guess that’s fair.”

Linda walked in a moment later and watched as Jerry loaded up the boat with supplies.

“Tanya and I are going to drive over and hide out in the forest near the HQ building.” She explained, “I have my phone and a radio unit.”

“Good, multiple escape routes is important.” Jerry nodded, “Kayla, Braden you two are with… Braden needs new clothes.”

“Y-yeah that’d be- yep.” Braden stuttered, still very much out of his depth.

However, Linda had come prepared with a pair of jeans and a t shirt and soon Braden was out of his ruined suit and ready to go.

As the boat sped down the lake, Braden found his head slipping into something similar to his game headspace. He was worried and scared for Carey and to some degree himself, but his brain seemed to switch into business mode when he caught sight of the large fishing HQ building peeking out of the forest.

Jerry beached the boat with expert accuracy and he and Kayla anchored the power boat to the beach. Carefully, the three of them entered the heavy foliage where Kayla unveiled a three pronged trident and turned back to the beach.

“You’ll guard?” Jerry asked.

“If anyone gets near the boat they won’t know what hit them.” Kayla smirked before disappearing into the forest.

Jerry turned back to Braden and nodded, pointing to the building.

The older man gave Braden a quick rundown on the layout of the building in case they got seperated. The labs were located directly in the center of the building, with three escape routes from there. Braden took care to memorize them as fast he could, listing each route as they walked along the forest border. 

Jerry circled around the building with Braden in tow for a while until they found the specific entrance Jerry was looking for. It was around the side of the building, with a loading bay and boat dock that went right into the side. A boat was docked there, a larger fishing vessel, it’s transom in the building, bow out.

The vessel was exactly like the one Kayla described from earlier.

Braden watched as people mulled around the area, many dressed in fishing gear, the rest in white lab coats. Suddenly, one of the fisherman broke rank and headed into the forest causing Braden to immediately go on edge.

“Jerry!” A man’s voice hissed behind them.

Braden nearly jumped, ready to fight, only to see Jerry move his way to the fisherman who’d walked away.

“Matt, where’s my son?” Jerry asked softly.

“Main labs with the rest of the tribe.” Matt shook his head, “There’ll be an opening soon, I’ve got a bunch of my men on the docks tonight. When you hear the fog horn, make a run for it.”

“Any weapons to be on the lookout for?” Jerry asked while Braden watched the lab coat clad men laugh with one another.

“Tasers and batons, no firearms to my knowledge.” Matt sighed.

“Good, we can handle that.” Jerry nodded, “We’ll wait here until the horn goes off.”

Matt nodded before walking off.

Jerry and Braden lay in wait at the forest edge for a while. It seemed like an eternity, but the moment the fog horn sounded, chaos encompassed the area. Almost every fisherman grabbed hold of the nearest lab coat and Jerry whisper-yelled “Come on!” as fists began to fly.

Suddenly the pair were sprinting through the fold and into the building, Braden on Jerry’s heels the whole time. They dodged the massive fight quickly, two fisherman flanking them as they entered the loading bay, and they hastily sprinted towards the labs.

They’d been lucky to not hit much security, and the ones they did hit weren’t expecting the surprise as the fisherman decked them to the ground. When they reached the lab doors, Jerry hopped on the computer to open whatever doors he could, hands flying over the keyboards as he typed in code after code after code.

“Braden, when these doors open, I’m going to stay here and open what I can, it’s your job to get people out of here alright?” Jerry explained.

Braden nodded bracing himself for what was to come.

When the doors opened, Braden stood frozen for a split second as he saw all the tanks and cages lining the way. Braden pushed a wave of nausea to the back of his mind before running into the lab holds.

As he ran, cages started opening on the random, sickly looking people practically falling out of them as he directed them on where to go. Braden noted that none of the tanks appeared to have anything in them, only the cages did. The goalie had a horrible thought of what could happen if merfolk were kept from the water, but powered through, making sure people were out of their cages and on their way out.

However, through all the cages he ran by,  _ he couldn’t find Carey _ .

Braden ran into very few scientists as he sprinted through the labs, but none seemed keen on stopping him, preferring to cower in fear, obviously not having expected this to happen.

Suddenly, a chorus of yells and screams came from the next level up, and fear struck Braden’s heart. He had no idea how many people were trapped in here, no way to find out who they were, no way to find out exactly where Carey was. Still, he pushed on, knowing he had to get as many people to the safety of the lake as possible.

Adrenaline coursed heavily through Braden’s veins as he helped to wrench a few cages that had difficulty moving open, but with each cage he opened, his heart fell more. The people all looked gaunt and ill. Carey had only been here for a few hours, but what if they’d hurt him badly already?

As he climbed level after level, opened cage after cage… Fear seemed to consume him. Where was Carey? He wasn’t anywhere to be found and Braden started to fear for the worst. Finally as he got to the top level and opened the last cage, one man came out.

“Get to the bottom, Jerry Price is waiting for you and-” Braden told the man.

“Price?” the man asked softly.

“Yes.” Braden nodded.

“His kid, the boy, someone just took him-”

“Which way?” Braden asked, his heart rate picking up exponentially, he had to get to Carey.

“The main labs.” The man told him, pointing to a door at the end of the catwalk they were on.

“How many people are back there?” Braden asked quickly.

“At least two, maybe four, maybe- maybe more.” The man frowned, “My head’s a bit fuzzy though-”

“Get to Jerry, tell him I’m going after Carey.” Braden told the man before sprinting to the door.

Braden tried to get a look inside, a horrible anxiety creeping into his head as he did so. What if they’d done something horrible to Carey? What if he was hurt or  _ worse. _ The window in the door was blacked out with no way to see inside, so quickly, Braden braced himself and flung the door open.

“Didn’t anyone tell you to watch your back?” Braden spun to see the man he’d just sprung out of the cell pull a gun on him.

“ _ Shit- _ ” Braden yelled before a wrench came flying out of the room and conked the man square on the head, sending him to the floor in a boneless heap.

Braden stood frozen for a moment, not fully processing what was happening. Slowly he turned around to see a bunch of scientists strewn throughout the room, all looking as if they’d been beaten unconscious. Suddenly the Canadian heard a yawn and a clap, turning on his heels to see Carey scratch at his head. Braden’s jaw dropped at the sight and Carey greeted him with a smile,

“Hi there.” 

“Wh- What?” Braden stammered out, “How? What? I don’t-”

“I took them out genius.” Carey rolled his eyes with a chuckle.

“ _ How? _ ” Braden yelled out in exasperation, completely taken aback.

“Braden dearest, I may act all innocent and cute for the most part, but I know how to defend myself.” Carey sighed as he swung an arm around Braden’s shoulders, “Not that difficult to pick off people who think you’re a defenseless bean pole of a man.”

“I- I don’t think I have words right now?” Braden shook his head.

“You,” Carey giggled softly, “are ridiculous.”

“Have you been fucking with me attitude wise again?” Braden asked with a laugh.

“Just a tad, I’ve definitely been playing up the soft, inexperienced outsider who understands nothing about the world bit.” Carey shrugged, “That bit was important though, had to make whatever was watching us believe I was a big softie.”

“Just on the boat?” Braden cocked a brow.

“They’ve been watching us all week.” Carey frowned, “They saw me get out of the lake near your house a few days ago. I was running them on a wild goose chase for a bit, but I realized I couldn’t keep them away forever. Mom and I figured you and dad would come after me anyways, so this rescue was kind of planned from the start.”

“And no one told us?” Braden frowned.

“I was about to tell you on the lake, but they knocked you out before I could. They moved a lot faster than I thought they would.” Carey grinned sheepishly, “How  _ is  _ your head?”

“Just a bit achy, nothing too terrible.” Braden shook his head, “This explains why you haven’t been a sarcastic asshole recently.”

“Well, you know.” Carey shrugged, “You’re alright with it though?”

“I would’ve felt better knowing beforehand, but honestly, as long as everyone’s safe, that’s what matters.” Braden sighed as he pressed a quick kiss to Carey’s cheek.

“Good because holding back the snark has been hard.” Carey guffawed.

“Oh my fucking god.” Braden laughed back as he rolled his eyes.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

A few hours later, the last of the merfolk were swimming back down to the city beneath the lake. One of the women in captivity had been a healer who was able to check up on everyone and evaluate their conditions. While some were inevitably worse than others, she concluded with proper rest, food, and care, they’d all be back to normal within the season.

Braden smiled as he watched Carey explain the entire thing to Kayla and Jerry, both of whom were just as exasperated with Linda as he’d been with Carey. Tanya was especially done with the situation, rolling her eyes at Linda and mentioning how her dramatics never ceased to amaze them all. 

After a few minutes, Kayla explained that she was going to make the rounds in the lake and stay in their home beneath the lake tonight, while Jerry and Linda were going to head up to the closest Mountie outpost to get this straightened out.

“Wait, the Mounties know about all this?” Braden asked when Linda informed the group of where they were going.

“Of course they do, most of the government does as well. We’ve just asked them to keep quiet about all the ‘mystical’ happenings in Canada, there are specific departments for us and everything.” Linda laughed, “You didn’t think we lived lawlessly and without government representation do you?”

Braden blushed as Carey snorted at his mother’s complete call-out on the younger man.

“Well, I’m off to home,” Tanya smiled as the group settled and Kayla leapt into the lake, “I suppose you two will be making up for lost time?”

“ _ Auntie _ .” Braden groaned while Carey flushed red in embarrassment, Jerry made a face of ‘I really don’t need to hear this’, and Linda burst into hysterics.

Braden wallowed in his own embarrassment until he and Carey made their way back to the boat. The two pushed it back into the water, and Braden got in while Carey opted on throwing his somehow-still-clean-suit into the vehicle and hopping straight into the lake. The younger of the pair laughed as he pushed the throttle into gear, watching as Carey sped behind him in the wake line. He watched carefully as Carey swam about the boat the entire way back to his home, easily keeping speed with him and not looking winded at all when Braden arrived at the dock.

“How are you not dying?” Braden asked as they tied the boat back up in the boathouse.

“Merfolk are literally _ made  _ for swimming Braden, some are slower than others, but most of us can outrun a power boat.” Carey rolled his eyes.

The merman flopped onto the dock a moment later and he smiled up at Braden.

“You look like you want something.” Braden observed.

“You haven’t given me a single,  _ actual  _ kiss since we got out of that building.” Carey pointed out.

“Oh? Were we expecting one?” Braden prodded Carey playfully.

“Yes, I was.” Carey told him, his tone  _ incredibly _ haughty.

“Well, I’m sure it can be arranged to happen soon.” Braden told him, “But I don’t quite know how soon if you… catch my drift.”

“First off, these puns are getting out of hand,” Carey huffed in feigned annoyance, “second, I  _ cannot _ reach you from down here.”

“And that’s  _ my  _ problem?” Braden teased.

“ _ Braden _ .” Carey whined.

“What if I want to wait for you to dry off?” Braden asked, “I mean-”

“But that’ll take forever.” Carey complained.

“I dunno Carey-”

“Please?” Carey’s pout seemingly intensified in its power and Braden rolled his eyes at the wide Chocolate eyed merman.

Slowly Braden reached down and hoisted Carey up into his arms bridal style. The merman gasped in surprise, much as he had done the first time Braden had picked him up that way, before the Canadian pressed a soft kiss to Carey’s lips.

“Much better.” Carey smiled as Braden walked them out of the boat house and up to the house.

The trek up the stairs to Carey’s room was uneventful and quiet. The merman seemed to be content with laying his head on Braden’s shoulder and the younger man was just happy the older was safe. 

The moment they got to Carey’s bedroom, Braden placed the dark haired man down softly on his bed. As Braden carefully deposited Carey on the bed, his hand brushed against the soft skin where the merman’s flesh hit his scales, drawing a choked gasp from him, the red scales of his fluke seeming to shake and rustle about.

“Shit I- Carey are you alright?” Braden asked, afraid he’d hurt the merman.

“‘M fine.” Carey shuddered, his voice sounding like he was short of breath.

“I know you said it was sensitive there though, did I- did I hurt you?” Braden’s voice wavered in fear.

“No it’s,” Carey took a deep inhale, seemingly trying to settle himself, “it’s kind of like an erogenous zone?”

“ _ Oh. _ ” Braden felt his face burn red hot, not quite knowing what to do with said information.

“... Are you still up for… adult activities?” Carey waggled his eyebrows playfully before bursting into laughter.

“Oh my fucking god.” Braden shook his head in amusement, “Yes, but not when you’ve got the tail out.”

“Well obviously that wouldn’t work anyways so,” Carey shrugged before Braden heard a sizzling sound, watching in surprise as the merman’s fluke turned into legs a short moment later.

“... Of course you can speed up the drying process.” Braden sighed in defeat, flushing a bit at the sight of Carey clad only in a tight pair of black boxer briefs.

Carey merely shrugged in response, his eyes shining with mirth as Braden sat down on the bed next to him.

“For what it’s worth,” Braden whispered, cupping Carey’s cheek in his hand, “I’m really happy that you’re safe.”

“And I’m glad you are too.” Carey’s voice was soft as he closed the distance between the two, covering Braden’s lips with his own as his fingers threaded his fingers through Braden’s auburn locks.

Soft moans and sighs soon filled the air of Carey’s bedroom. Braden pressed kiss after kiss to the strong torso of Carey’s body, lavishing attention on his partner. His hands roamed freely about the rest of the merman’s exposed skin, caressing each and every part of the darker haired man’s beautiful body he could reach. The sounds Carey let out were like music to his ears, the auburn haired man working tirelessly to pull whatever noises he could from the man below him. They started off soft and shy, like Carey was afraid to be heard, but gradually he became louder and louder under Braden’s touch.

Now, Braden wouldn’t consider himself to be great at this, nor would he claim to be skilled in the act, but he knew how to be gentle, he knew how to cherish what he was given, and he was learning how to love. The fire in his belly only became stronger this close to Carey, only grew hotter with the dark haired man beneath him. He’d spent years thinking he’d imagined up a best friend, only to find that man alive, well, and so incredibly wonderful that he couldn’t put it into words. Carey had chided and prodded him about it before, but as he listened to the older man’s moans ring in his ears like a siren’s song, Braden finally understood why he’d never been able to take a serious partner before. Carey was the only person he could and would ever care this deeply for.

Braden let Carey know as such.

The merman gave a soft cry at Braden’s declarations of love, the younger man looking to see tears welling in Carey’s big, beautiful brown eyes. He leaned down and softly pressed a kiss to Carey’s lips, stroking alongside the older man’s cheek as he did so. One of Carey’s hands found its way back into Braden’s hair while the other reached out and grasped the auburn haired man’s free hand to hold. Braden chuckled into the kiss while Carey moaned, gently slipping his tongue through the merman’s soft, parted lips. Carey let Braden take control, letting him guide the kiss, letting him position Carey how he wanted beneath him, letting him take care of the dark haired man.

“Braden,” Carey gasped as Braden rolled his hips down, “y-you’re still dressed.”

“That,” Braden laughed softly, “is an easy fix.”

Carey smiled before pushing Braden up and onto his knees so that the younger man straddled the merman’s lap and he could sit up. A soft sigh escaped Braden as Carey’s hands ran smoothly up his torso, then began to lift the hem of his shirt slowly. As he worked, Carey started to press kisses to Braden’s neck, laving at the soft, sensitive skin there. Braden let his head fall back slightly and groaned at the feeling, barely registering Carey pulling his shirt off as he finished. Suddenly, that feeling was gone and Braden looked back to see Carey staring at him in awe.

“Carey?” Braden asked softly.

Carey didn’t respond, but moved his hands up to Braden’s hips instead. The dark haired man carefully let his hands travel up the auburn haired man’s sides, mapping out the skin in curiosity. Braden shivered as Carey brushed one of his nipples, prompting the older man to repeat the action.

“You’re sensitive there,” Carey breathed out watching Braden with sharp eyes as he used his thumbs to circle the younger man’s nipples.

“A bit.” Braden nodded, as Carey took in each and every reaction he drew from the Canadian.

Slowly, Braden began to rock his hips down against Carey again, revelling in the friction against his still-clothed-cock and the little jolts of pleasure the older of the two drew from his nipples. Carey seemed to appreciate it as well as he let out a soft keen and stared up at Braden with a heated gaze. The goalie smiled down at the merman, bringing their lips together quickly before pushing Carey back down to the bed.

“Braden?” Carey pouted but gave a hitched gasp as Braden unbuttoned his pants and pulled them off, “Oh ok, yeah that’s- that’s good-”

“My eyes are up here.” Braden joked as he caught Carey staring at the wet spot on his red briefs.

“Yeah but- that’s… wow…” Carey flushed.

Braden smirked before leaning down over Carey and pressing his lips to the older’s collar bone. Carey hummed, his hands making their way back into Braden’s messy hair as the younger pressed kisses down his torso. Each kiss was met by a soft sigh from Carey until Braden reached a hand up to rub at one of the merman’s nipples. 

“ _ Fuck- _ ” Carey gasped as Braden pinched the rosy bud, “Th- that’s a b-bit much Bray-”

“Does it hurt?” Braden asked softly.

“It’s… it’s just a  _ lot _ .” Carey shuddered.

“Okay.” Braden nodded, “If anything I do makes you uncomfortable, tell me alright?”

“Alright.” Carey smiled.

Braden met the smile with one of his own before he hooked his thumbs in the waistband of Carey’s boxers. The merman seemed to blush even more at the action, but nodded when Braden’s eyes met his. 

Slowly, Braden pulled the tight black briefs down, lavishing Carey’s powerful thighs with kisses and nips. The merman’s breaths were heavy, his thighs trembling as he struggled to remain still under Braden’s sensual touch. A soft moan left Braden as Carey’s erection was revealed, he’d definitely have to get his mouth on it soon.

“Braden-” Carey breathed, “I’m so fucking hard-”

“I know sweetheart,” Braden murmured, pulling the briefs off the rest of the way and pressing a kiss to one of Carey’s inner thighs, “but we’re going to take this slow, I’m not going to hurt you.”

“But-”

“Just relax alright? Have you ever fingered yourself or used toys?” Braden asked.

“Not often, but yes.” Carey nodded, “I have lube in the bedside drawer.”

“Awesome.” Braden smiled as he grabbed and brought Carey’s hands to his own waistband, “You wanna get these off for me?”

“I would absolutely love to.” Carey nodded as he flipped the two of them over, but he cocked his head as he looked down at the tent in Braden’s briefs.

Before Braden could say anything, Carey gently brought his hand to the Canadian’s clothed erection, giving a tentative rub. Braden gave a low groan at the feeling, letting Carey continue to experiment on him. The older man seemed fascinated with Braden’s reactions, his chocolate eyes dark with lust as he finally hooked his hands in the waistband and pulled them down. Carey groaned at the sight of Braden’s cock and the goalie smirked.

“Yeah?” Braden cocked an eyebrow.

“It’s… wow.” Carey blushed, a shy smile on his face.

“If it makes you feel better, you’re far more beautiful than anyone I’ve gone to bed with in the past.” Braden smiled softly.

“Even with the internet and books… you’re far more amazing and wonderful than I ever could imagine.” Carey replied, “I never thought I’d be able to have… have this.”

“I don’t think I could either.” Braden told him, voice soft as he sat up to kiss Carey again.

“God we’re sappy.” Carey laughed as he pulled away from Braden, “S-so what should we do now?”

“Well,” Braden chuckled, “I’d like to get you on your back and get that cock of yours in my mouth.”

Carey’s eyes went wide at the suggestion and he nodded wordlessly. He let Braden flip them again and pinned the merman down to the bed. After laying a quick kiss to the older’s lips he worked his way down to Carey’s cock. He smiled as he wrapped a hand around Carey’s erection and gave it a few slow pumps. Heavy pants fell from Carey’s lips at the action and the moment Braden brought his lips to the head, Carey moaned. 

Braden sighed as he tongued the slit softly, collecting precome in his mouth. It was salty, just this side of bitter, but not unpleasant. The goalie brought his hand to the base of Carey’s erection and slowly sank his mouth down onto it. The wanton moan that left Carey’s lips sent a thrill up Braden’s spine and he ran his tongue up the underside to try to get more sounds to fall from the merman’s lips.

As it turned out, Carey got loud fast. Braden had only just begun to bob his head when Carey descended into a mess of whines and pants. It also wasn’t long before Carey pulled Braden off of him and shook his head.

“I’m t- too close-” Carey gasped out, “Please can we- we-”

“Get the lube.” Braden told him, his voice rough and gravelly.

Carey nodded and grabbed the bottle from the drawer handing it to Braden.

“Alright, I’m going to have you lay down with a pillow under your back okay?” Braden explained, pulling a pillow from the headboard for Carey to put under him.

Carey nodded and helped Braden with positioning before settling himself and trying to relax.

“That’s good Carey,” Braden smiled, gently caressing his cheek, “Now, just keep nice and relaxed for me alright?”

“I can do that.” Carey breathed before frowning, “Oh shit- condoms-”

“Already have one.” Braden smiled, grabbing one from his pants and placing it beside him.

“Lookit you Mr. Prepared.” Carey chuckled, “Okay, I think- I think I’m ready to go.”

“Alright.” Braden smiled, uncapping the bottle and drizzling the lube over his fingers.

Ever so slowly, Braden positioned Carey’s legs up and over his shoulders to make it easier on both of them. When Carey had settled into the new position, Braden gently brought his hand down to circle the older of the pair’s hole. Carey’s breath hitched slightly, but he remained fairly relaxed at Braden’s movements. After a moment or so, Carey started pushing back against Braden’s fingers prompting a laugh from Braden.

“Patience is the key Carey.” Braden chided in a joking tone.

“I feel  _ fine _ .” Carey rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Yeah?” Braden cocked an eyebrow playfully as he stilled his hand.

“Ys, Braden, I’m  _ fin- _ ” Carey yelped suddenly as Braden slipped a finger through the tight ring of muscle.

“Still fine?” Braden smirked, crooking his finger as he did so.

“ _ Fuck you _ .” Carey grunted, his hands fisting in the sheets below him.

It took a few minutes of pumping his finger in and out of Carey before Braden was confident the dark haired merman could take another. Carey thought he’d be able to take another earlier, but the younger of the two knew better. 

“Ready for another?” Braden asked softly, using his free hand to gently stroke Carey’s side.

“I’ve been ready.” Carey huffed pushing back onto Braden’s finger, “C’mon get  _ on  _ with it.”

“Magic word?” Braden prodded, his tone light and playful in contrast to Carey’s ridiculously desperate one.

“You’re being  _ mean _ .” Carey huffed, “But... Please.”

Braden merely smiled, getting some more lube onto his hands before slowly working a second finger inside. Carey gave a barely audible gasp at the feeling and he shuddered at the newest intrusion to his body. 

“You alright?” Braden cooed down to the merman whose eyes had closed and was biting at his lip slightly.

“I’m fine… it’s just… it’s  _ different _ having someone else do this.” Carey sighed.

“Well sometimes,” Braden smiled as he crooked his fingers, pushing them a bit further until Carey gasped suddenly, his body arching and eyes flying open, “it’s a bit easier this way.”

“Holy  _ fuck. _ ” Carey moaned, “Fucking- do that  _ again. _ ”

Braden happily complied with the merman’s demand and rubbed across his prostate for a few seconds. For the next few minutes, the Canadian alternated between thrusting his fingers in and out of the older man and stroking at the sensitive bundle of nerves that made Carey moan so sweetly. 

Braden revelled in the noises Carey was making. It was as if everything was more intense for the older man, and his composure had gone completely out the window. As the goalie worked in a third finger, all he could focus on were the sounds falling from the merman’s lips at even the slightest movement.

“Christ Carey, you’re really sensitive aren’t you?” Braden laughed softly.

“N-no shit,” Carey’s voice wobbled as he spoke, “fuck, Braden c’mon I w-want- I want-”

“I know Carey,” Braden murmured, leaning down to kiss the merman, “I need to be sure everything’s ready though, I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I know.” Carey whimpered, “I f-feel ready though-”

“Just a little bit longer alright?” Braden told him, “I promise it’ll feel good and will be worth it.”

“I know.” Carey breathed out, his face and tone softening at Braden’s words.

Only a few minutes later did Braden finally feel comfortable withdrawing his fingers from Carey. He’d done his best to gently and thoroughly prep the dark haired man, the timing of which seemed to have annoyed Carey. He could deal.

“Braden?” Carey whined a bit at the loss of the Canadian’s fingers.

“You think you’re ready?” Braden asked, just to double check.

Carey nodded his head and watched as Braden unwrapped the condom and slowly rolled it onto himself. Braden gave a shaky moan at the touch to his neglected cock, having only cared for making sure his partner was ready for what was to happen next. He quickly lubed himself up, the feeling of his hand on his cock drawing more soft noises from his lips, before lining up to Carey. 

“C’mon,” Carey moaned softly, trying to push back on to Braden, “please Braden, I swear I’m alright.”

“I know.” Braden smiled, then pushed forwards.

Braden groaned as he entered the older man, the tight heat feeling like heaven on his erection. Carey’s breathing quickened as he pushed further, a little choked off whine escaping his lips as Braden shifted more. When Braden finally bottomed out, Carey was panting. His breaths came heavily, but no sign of pain had crossed his face.

“Are you okay?” Braden panted.

“Yeah just- it’s- it’s a bit uncomfortable?” Carey shuddered, “and  _ big. _ ”

“Thanks for the ego boost.” Braden chuckled, drawing a soft laugh from Carey.

“You’re ridiculous.” Carey smiled.

“And you’ve been a snarky asshole.”

“As is my job.”

“I love you.” Braden sighed.

“I love you too,” Carey grinned before giving his hips a little roll, “Now, I  _ think  _ you can move a bit? It doesn’t feel too bad anymore?”

“Like this?” Braden asked, grinding down into Carey.

“ _ Fuck _ \- yeah ok, sure that fucking works,” Carey babbled.

“Too much?” Braden asked nervously.

“No it’s still j-just different.” Carey shook his head.

“Maybe…” Braden pursed his lips before sliding out a bit, and pushing back into the merman.

“ _ Oh. _ ” Carey groaned his head lolling back a bit, “Yeah alright, do  _ that  _ again.”

“I can certainly arrange that.” Barden offered Carey a toothy grin, repeating the motion he’d made a second before.

Each thrust drew more of those wonderful moans and gasps and grunts from Carey’s lips. Braden had begun to let loose as well, moans of his own escaping from him frequently. Carey felt perfect to him, and judging by the merman’s reaction, it was pretty damn good for him too. 

After a particularly rough thrust, Carey’s hands wrapped suddenly around his back, as did his legs and he gave a long moan,

“Braden  _ please _ , more.” 

Braden obliged and picked up the pace a bit, making sure to still maintain a safe pace for Carey. The merman seemed content as he rocked back into every thrust of Braden’s hips, his voice loud and ringing wonderfully in Braden’s ears. 

The auburn haired man knew he wouldn’t last forever, and quickly moved a hand from Carey’s hips to his leaking cock. Suddenly, Carey gave a strangled whine and he gripped Braden tighter.

“Fuck- fuck I’m close.” Carey stuttered.

Braden nodded, pumping his hand around Carey’s cock in time with his hips, determined to make this the best damn orgasm of the merman’s life as of yet. The goalie himself was fairly close as well, and when he felt Carey start to tighten more and more around him, he knew he’d be a goner soon. 

After just a few more thrusts, Carey was crying out Braden’s name, coming across his and the younger’s stomach, and tightening around the Canadian in a way that brought Braden closer and closer. Carey’s loud whines and moans kept up as he rode out his aftershocks, driving Braden to move faster and faster until-

“Fuck,  _ fuck Carey. _ ” Braden practically sobbed out as his orgasm hit him, white hot pleasure spreading to every inch of his body.

Braden coasted off that high for as long as he could, letting the waves of pure ecstasy roll and wash over him as he grinded down into Carey. As the feeling ebbed away, he felt Carey go limp beneath him, the dark haired merman trying to catch his breath.

Slowly, Braden pulled out, hissing at the oversensitivity while Carey grunted a bit. Braden looked down at the disheveled, messy head of his partner before leaning down and kissing him.

“How was that?” Braden asked, his voice rough and tired.

“Fucking fantastic.” Carey nodded, eyes closed and mouth upturned into a gentle smile.

“Still ridiculous.” Braden chuckled as he walked over and grabbed a bath towel from Carey’s closet door.

“Ah, but I’m  _ your  _ ridiculous boyfriend.” Carey pointed out.

“That you are.” Braden smiled as he went about cleaning the both of them up.

The moment the two of them were clean enough to not wake up sticky, disgusting messes, Braden crawled into bed beside Carey. The merman quickly cuddled up to his side and wrapped his arms around the goalie with a sigh.

“Hey Bray?”

“Yeah?”

“I really do love you.”

“I really love you too.”

__________________________________________________________________________________________

“You’re sure you’re alright taking him down to DC?” Jerry asked as Braden finished loading Carey’s suitcases into the Jeep.

“Dad-” Carey groaned in exasperation.

“Mr. Price-” Braden started.

“Jerry.” Jerry rolled his eyes.

“Jerry, my bad. Jerry I really don’t mind and I’m sure he’ll be fine, right Carey?” Braden laughed.

“I’ll be fine.” Carey confirmed, “I have a phone, I have a laptop, and I have the post, there’s no shortage of ways to talk to you guys!”

“Jerry, he was bound to go off at some point.” Linda laughed at her husband’s distress.

“I know but-” Jerry frowned.

“Dad, I highly doubt Braden will let anything bad happen to Carey.” Kayla rolled her eyes before giving Carey a tight hug, “Right Braden?”

“And he wouldn’t let anything happen to me either,” Braden nodded, “he can fend for himself you know.”

“I took down at least 10 evil scientists last week!” Carey reminded everyone.

“See?” Braden pointed out.

“Jerry, you weren’t going to keep them cooped up forever.” Tanya shook her head, “All baby birds fly away eventually.”

“I just don’t know how comfortable I am with-” Jerry sighed.

He was immediately interrupted by shouts and groans of “Jerry!” and “Dad!” before he shrugged, 

“Alright, alright, I’m not going to  _ stop  _ him.”

“Better not.” Carey mumbled before giving his parents hugs as well, “I’ll call you guys at the absolute  _ least _ once a week alright?”

“If you need any help with anything call us alright?” Linda smiled.

“Will do mom.”

“Take care of yourself too.” Jerry nodded.

“I’m sure Braden and I can handle it Dad.” Carey rolled his eyes.

“And you take care of him!” Jerry called out to Braden who nodded.

Kayla walked up to Braden as Carey conversed with the rest of the group and looked him up and down once,

“If so much as a single hair on his head is hurt, they will never. Find. Your. Body.”

“Jesus Kayla, I’m not gonna tout him around and shout ‘hey look I’ve got a merman’.” Braden laughed before Kayla smiled.

“I want to visit too you know.” She told him, “You’ve gotta get me out of this place.”

“I’m sure Carey would love for you to come visit every now and then,” Braden smiled, “and I’d be more than happy to facilitate an escape from your parents.”

“Thank you.” Kayla smiled before running back to her family.

“Braden?” Tanya called with a smile, her greying brown locks whipping around a bit in the wind.

“Hey Auntie.” Braden smiled sadly, upset he had to leave, but excited to head back home.

“I know you’ll take care of that young man, but don’t forget to care for yourself too alright?” Tanya chuckled, “Thank you for coming to visit this Summer, it’s been lovely seeing you after so long.”

“It was great to see you Aunt Tanya, and I’ll be sure to keep everything running smoothly.” Braden smiled.

“Good luck this season.”

“Thank you.”

A few minutes later Carey was settling himself in the car as Braden pulled away, Carey’s family home on the lake disappearing in the forest trail.

“You nervous?” Braden asked as he made the turn onto the main road.

“A bit.” Carey admitted with a shy smile, “But it’s a new adventure.”

“It’s like a new book, you have no idea what’s in store, but you can’t wait to find out.” Braden replied with a grin.

“If that’s the case,” Carey chuckled softly, “I’m excited to see what kind of story the universe has in store for us.”

 

 


End file.
